Break Through
by FakeAlbino
Summary: Kyoko reaches out to a certain someone to obtain her passport, but the ramifications are more than she can bear alone. How will she react when Ren steps up to help? What will he do when he sees her pain? [I have somehow managed to add a good amount of revealed secrets in this FF. Enjoy! :) ]
1. Contact

**Jeeze. I cant believe I haven't written anything in so long. I guess I just got bored and decided to do this again. I hope you enjoy :) Please let me know what you think. More to come! This takes places when the manga currently is- Kyoko admits to Lory that she loves Ren and they are now in Guam with Ren as disguise as Corn. **

**-Shimizu**

* * *

*knock knock* "President?" Takarada Lory's assistant entered with a tray carrying a message from the front desk. "This has just arrived, sir."

Lory takes the memo with a peculiar sense of dread. As he reads it, his fears are confirmed. "I see. Is she still at the front desk?" _I should have known this would happen._

His cloaked assistant bows deeply "No sir. She has already returned."

"Thank you" Lory sighs as he looks out his office windows and into the horizon, looking for hope for a peaceful ending to a potentially nasty situation. _I hope you can handle this one, Ren._

* * *

"Kyoko-chan… Would you like me to teach you how adults kiss?" He deadpans. "That was quite pathetic."

Kyoko blushes furiously and shakes her head with all her might "absolutely NOT!" _How could I ever do that to while he looks so much like… him! _"A kiss can simply be the touching of lips! That should be sufficient in breaking the curse."

Corn smiles "Indeed…" _I have to stop… I don't want to upset her again. Besides… What she said was correct. All that's happened- even Rick's death has led to this. To her. _"And I thank you for that. It seems it worked."

Kyoko beamed while her blush still clung to her cheeks. "Tha-" she started as she was cut off by her phone vibrating, shaking her vigorously. "Ah. Sorry." She answers her phone and wanders out of ear shot. "Hello?"

"_Hello? Kyoko-chan? Where are you? I called for your room at the hotel and you did not answer. I thought I'd see if your phone worked over here."_

Kyoko shrieked "I am so sorry! I couldn't help myself and took a walk on the beach. I lost track of time!"

"_It's fine. I spoke to Ren-chan and he is free for dinner with us tonight." If only he would answer his phone!_ _"We can meet in two hours."_

Kyoko bows on instinct, though she knows make-up artist Jelly Woods (aka Muse) cannot see her. "I understand. I will be there!"

They hang up and Kyoko turns around to tell Corn of her departure, only to find him missing. "Corn…?" She walks to where he was before and discovers a note let behind in his place. *Thank you for saving me, Kyoko-chan. We will see each other again someday. –Corn* A tear streams down her face as she realizes her favorite fairy prince was gone. "Goodbye…"

* * *

Ren arrives at the hotel and quickly locates Muse, knowing he has been gone much longer than expected.

"Ren-chan! There you are! I have been trying to contact you all day. Come on, we don't have much time to change your hair back to normal."

Ren and Muse out of the lobby to her trailer while the man at the reception desk is speaking loudly, trying and failing to calm the person on the other end. "I apologize, but there is nothing I can do. She is not currently in her room. As soon as she arrives, I will gladly leave her a mess-", he doesn't get to finish as the other person hangs up. He sighs and simply rights down a memo to keep an eye out for a Kyoko Mogami-sama.

* * *

Kyoko slowly makes her way back to her hotel, contemplating all that had transpired just a short time ago. She walks into the lobby and is immediately hailed by the receptionist.

"Excuse me, miss. This has arrived for you a short while ago. And someone has been calling frequently trying to reach you." He hands her an envelope.

She had been expecting it, but she had not expected for anyone to need to call her. "May I ask who it was that called?"

"I was not able to get a name, but it was an older woman. She sounded quite upset."

Kyoko blanched but shook it off. _It couldn't be. She wouldn't care enough to call. _She bows to the receptionist and returns to her room to inspect her parcel. She looked at it until she saw the one thing she was looking for. _Her_ signature. Kyoko's body shook involuntary, _it's okay. She signed it. That's all she needed to do. That's all she will do._

Kyoko shakes off her sudden mood and decides to get ready for dinner with Muse and Tsuruga-san. She blushes, realizing that this will be the first time she sees him since admitting out loud to someone that she loves him.

* * *

Dinner passes without any hitches, but Ren notices that Kyoko is acting strangely. She brushes it off as jet lag, but he knows her too well to fall for it. He decides to walk her back to room, hoping for a moment alone with her. He wonders if she doesn't truly know that he is Corn.

"Mogami-san." He stops walking and waits for her to turn to face him.

She freezes. "Y-yes!?" She stammers, realizing she was contemplating her parcel again.

"Is everything okay?" He stares in her eyes, hoping to see the truth. "You've been acting strangely all evening."

She realizes her mistake, not entering acting mode. She starts to refute his claim but stops and suddenly deflates, giving up on her composure. "I'm sorry. I just... I received a reply for my passport request. And that requires a parent's signature."

Realizing just what that meant, Ren struggles to maintain an air of confusion. Tsuruga Ren is not supposed to know what Fairy Prince Corn knows- just how much hearing from _that_woman would hurt this girl. "Your mother?"


	2. Needed Touch

**Flashback**

_"Is everything okay?" He stares in her eyes, hoping to see the truth. "You've been acting strangely all evening."_

_She realizes her mistake, not entering acting mode. She starts to refute his claim but stops and suddenly deflates, giving up on her composure. "I'm sorry. I just... I received a reply for my passport request. And that requires a parent's signature."_

_Realizing just what that meant, Ren struggles to maintain an air of confusion. Tsuruga Ren is not supposed to know what Fairy Prince Corn knows- just how much hearing from __that __woman would hurt this girl. "Your mother?"_

* * *

Her face said all he needed to know- Kyoko's mother had contacted her for the first time in years.

"I haven't heard from her in a long time. I sent her a request for a signature to get my passport. I didn't expect to get a reply so soon…" _or at all. _Kyoko's shoulders slump, "I'm sorry for acting like this."

Ren shakes his head "Don't be." They finish their walk to her room and he bids her a goodnight. Returning to his room, Ren contemplates their day and the bomb that has just been dropped on Kyoko.

In Kyoko's room, she prepares for bed when her phone vibrates. Her caller ID says that it's Lory Takarada. "Hello?"

"_Good evening, Mogami-san."_

"Good evening."

"_I know this is late, but I thought you might want to know. Your mother has been repeatedly trying to get in contact with you here at the office."_ Lory pauses, _"Mogami-kun, be prepared. She will come when you return."_

Kyoko sighs, "I understand. Thank you for letting me know." _So she's looking there too. _

"_Mogami-kun."_ Lory draws her back to the here and now. _"I know this is difficult, but you don't have to deal with this alone." _

She doesn't respond. They hang up and she can't shake the fear overcoming her as a shiver runs up her spine. She walks over to her luggage and finds a small purse holding the only thing that can help her feel better- safer. _Corn…_

* * *

"Setsu" His voice draws her out of the spell she was in as he pats her head.

"Brother…"

"You look tired…" Cain notices the dark circles under her eyes. "Go wait in our dressing room, I won't be long." He moves his hand to her cheek and runs his thumb under her eye, tracing the mark darkening her face. _She must have been up all night. _

Setsu leans her head into his hand and smiles "I won't miss my brother in action."

"Setsu." His expression said it all. "Go… I'll come find you when I'm done."

True to character, Setsu pouts and crosses her arms, unwilling to move. However, she knows better than to defy her brother and turns to return to their dressing room.

"Wait." Cain crabs her arm, forcing her to face him so that he may lean in and kiss her on the cheek. "Thank you."

Setsu clenches her fist, fighting back Kyoko's reactions. She doesn't want to slip up again. Lory may have found out, but she would never let Ren figure it out. She manages to smile, "yeah yeah" and walks away.

* * *

"_There you are, my ungrateful child" she sneers down at young Kyoko. "How dare you embarrass me like this!?" She throws Kyoko's tests at her, causing Kyoko to flinch at the harshness of her words._

Setsu wakes with a start as Cain enters the room, the smell of the ocean still clinging to him.

"How was it?" Setsu acts as if she stretches while she wipes her stray tears away and observes her beloved brother. Today they were shooting a fighting scene on the beach, one Cain was sure to enjoy. Bits of sand fell from him with every move he made and he flopped down beside her on the couch she was now sitting up on.

"Sandy."

Setsu chuckles and picks stray bits of shells out of his hair. Cain sighs and leans on her, resting his eyes after a long day in the sun. Setsu plays with his hair as he secretly relishes her touch. "What did you dream about?" he asks so nonchalantly that Setsu believes she must have made it up. Cain sits up and looks at her, brushing away a tear she missed. He examine her face, "Why were you crying?"

Setsu looks away from him, "it was nothing, just a bad dream."

Cain continues to watch her and brings his hand to her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Mogami-san"

Kyoko starts. _Tsuruga-san… Why now..? _She looks away again, not able to look in the eyes that make her want to let everything she's been holding back out.

"Kyoko-san" he says her name hesitantly. She looks up at him, startled by hearing her name. "It'll be okay."

Tears spring to her eyes as a sob escapes her throat. "I-I'm s-s-sorry…" she tries to apologize for her outrageous behavior.

Ren gently embraces her, "Don't be… Don't ever be."


	3. Focus

Thanks for reading my story everyone :) Which is honestly just a daydream of mine while I read the story haha. I know I've updated a lot lately but I'll slow down soon. I was just freaking out today after seeing what happens in chapter 211! I didn't think it would be great since we already got the mini kiss from Kyoko but BOY was I wrong :P Anyway, please leave comments and ideas you think might work pretty well. Thanks 3

* * *

_"Kyoko-san" he says her name hesitantly. She looks up at him, startled by hearing her name. "It'll be okay."_

_Tears spring to her eyes as a sob escapes her throat. "I-I'm s-s-sorry…" she tries to apologize for her outrageous behavior._

_Ren gently embraces her, "Don't be… Don't ever be."_

Kyoko slightly blushes as she remembers Ren's warmth. Refusing to sit in the dressing room while Cain works, Setsu now stood in the sidelines to watch him in action. The sun shone down relentlessly and Setsu wonders how they all could work all day long without much rest. She wanders away to grab a bottle of water for her brother.

_I can at least do this much for him,_ Setsu thinks to herself.

As she returns, the director calls cut and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Everyone was still edgy every time Cain and Murasame-san acted as opposites. Cain notices Setsu and immediately goes to her side. Taking the water from her, he smiles and pats her head in thanks.

Setsu sighs in frustration and crosses her arms, "I'm tired of this place. We should just return home and let them do what they want without you."

"If you're tired then go sit in the shade." Cain brings his hand away. "Don't become ill on me."

"I'm just glad we're almost done with this movie. I'm tired of sharing my brother with everyone." Setsu turns to go sit in the shade.

The day drags on until the sun starts to go down. Noticing that they were losing light quickly, the crew called a rap for the day. Setsu and Cain return to their room and she forces him to take a shower first to get all of the sand off of him. Once she is alone, Setsu checks her phone in case the President contacted her again. She breathes a sigh of relief when she sees that he hasn't.

_Focus. You're working. Nothing is going to happen here. _Setsu slaps her cheeks and attempts to cheer herself up. She starts making a quick dinner and finishes just before Cain steps out of his long shower. He starts walking straight for his bed, but Setsu grabs him by the collar and drags him to the table.

"Eat. You're not allowed to go to bed until you eat." Setsu commands and goes to take her own shower. Once she is done, she smiles at seeing the empty bowl and plate Cain had finished. "Good boy."

* * *

Setsu wakes in the early morning and being unable to go back to sleep, decided to go for a walk on the beach. Taking some normal clothes with her, she finds a public bathroom to change from Setsu to Kyoko so that no one would recognize her coming from their hotel room. Hiding her belongings behind a toilet, she sets out.

She returns to where she met Corn again and wishes he would pop out of the water again. _I hope you're doing well…_ She looks at the water and walks up to it until the water rushes over her feet. She quickly looks around to make sure no one is there. Removing her covering, Kyoko enters the water and sinks down into the quiet, peaceful world below. _No wonder you wanted to come here._ Kyoko smiles knowing that he must be doing well. The curse was broken. _If only my curse would end too._

Cain wakes and looks at Setsu's empty bed. It is only 7:30 and he isn't due on set until 10:00. He gets up and decides to go look for her.

The beach is empty due to the early hours so he starts looking for her there. Eventually he makes his way to where he met Kyoko as Corn/Kuon. He begins to walk away until he sees Kyoko sitting on the sand a little ways away.

Kyoko watches the sunrise making the world much brighter than it had been when she left the room.

Cain, enamored with the scene before him, can't help but stare at her. He's suddenly grateful it's so early. If anyone else had seen her like this, as beautiful as she looks right now, he would not have handled it well.

Then he sees her expression.

Kyoko remembers all the times her heart had been hurt. First it was when her mother turned her back on her because of her failure. And then when Shotaro had betrayed her. Though she was now almost thankful it all happened because she was able to meet Ren, she still felt the sting of love being broken. It was why she would not confess her love to Ren. She would never be able to stand rejection from him, it would be so much worse than what she had already experienced. Before she realized it, her love had grown to be too much.

A tear streamed down her cheek. Knowing he could not comfort her, Cain turns and heads back for the hotel.

Kyoko changes back into Setsu and returns to their room. Cain is lounging in a chair and looks over at her.

"I'm back. I'll make breakfast." Setsu begins to grab ingredients but Cain gets up and hugs her from behind. "Brother?"

"You shouldn't leave so early." Like a puppy, he nuzzles her.

Setsu turns around and returns the embrace, "I didn't think you would wake up for a while. Sorry." They release each other. "I'm going to take a shower. At least eat something small."

* * *

-A Week Later-

Cain and Setsu return home and meet with the President. Muse is already there so that they can return to their normal looks. With the movie finished, Ren returns his hair to his usual color and Kyoko gives her borrowed clothes to Muse.

"Mogami-kun, I'd like to speak with you for a moment." Lory announces.

Kyoko quickly bows to Muse, who is still working on Ren, and goes to speak with Lory. "President."

He hands her the messages that have been left while she was away. "These were left here from your mother."

Kyoko takes them, but does not read them. "Thank you, sir."

Lory watches her curiously but doesn't ask why she won't read them.

"Thank you for your help," Kyoko says as she bows and leaves.

Sighing heavily, Lory goes to check on Muse and Ren. Ren notices that Kyoko is not with him and is alarmed to learn that she has left.

"Calm down. She'll be fine. If she can't handle this, then she can't grow." Lory looks out the window to the street below.

Ren balls his fists to contain his anger. He knows she can handle this, but he doesn't like how badly she might get hurt. The girl he had spent time with on the beach as he pretended to be someone else, the girl whose kiss wiped away the darkness of his past, the girl who made him feel like life was worth living could be terribly hurt and he didn't know how to stop it.

* * *

"Cut! Ok, that's all for today. Good job everyone." The director of Box R called.

Kyoko snapped out of Natsu mode and went to her dressing room to gather her things and change. As she leaves, she finds her co-workers murmuring and glancing at her. Standing at the entrance of the set, Ren was leaning against a wall to wait on her. When their eyes meet, he walks over to her.

"I was nearby and thought you could use a ride home."

"T-Tsuruga-san, you don't have to do this!" Kyoko replied, completely flustered.

He smiles, "It's no problem at all."

She follows silently behind him to his car. Even the ride home is silent. Once they arrive, Kyoko steps out but does not walk inside. Instead, she turns and leans down to look at him.

"Thank you, Tsuruga-san." _For everything. _

"You're welcome, Mogami-san."

_Ah. He's back to my last name. _Kyoko smiles and walks inside. Ren watched to make sure she gets in safely before pulling away.

_She seems okay. Good._ Ren grips the steering wheel and tries to think of more ways to help Kyoko.

* * *

Kyoko yawns after another long day of work. She walks through the lobby to get outside when she bumps into someone. Knocked to the floor, he starts to help her up.

"Ah, my ba-" He stops. "Kyoko."

Kyoko freezes and looks up, "Shotaro."


	4. Truth

**Thank you everyone for reading! I hope you are all enjoying my story :) Please leave some reviews so I can know how I am doing. Also, if you have any ideas that you think would go well in this story then please let me know! I would love to hear what you think. Enjoy!**

**-Mizuki Shimizu**

* * *

_Kyoko yawns after another long day of work. She walks through the lobby to get outside when she bumps into someone. Knocked to the floor, he starts to help her up._

_"Ah, my ba-" He stops. "Kyoko."_

_Kyoko freezes and looks up, "Shotaro."_

* * *

Kyoko quickly stands up, refusing any help from him. She turns and starts to walk off.

"Hey!" Sho follows and steps in front of her to cut off her escape. He crosses his arms and smirks at her. "Running away, eh?"

She glares up at him, "I'm not running. I just have better things to be doing that standing here, talking to you. Now excuse me." She walks around him and almost makes it to the door when she hears him call out to her: "Tell Tsuruga Ren hi for me." Kyoko could hear the sarcasm and smirk in his voice without even looking at his expression. She turns to face him.

"And don't forget your promise."

"_I will serve as a waitress in your home for life if I fall for Tsuruga-san!" _Kyoko blanches as she remembers her own words. She was angry when she shouted them at Sho in the parking garage after Ren had seem them together. Now she wishes she had been able to control herself more than that. Seething, Kyoko shouts at Sho: "That's none of your business anymore!"

Sho bristles, anger and jealously rising up in him. He glances around and sees a few onlookers whispering his name. He quickly walks to Kyoko, roughly grabs her hand and leads her down a more deserted hallway. "Excuse me!?" he shouts at her as he flings her arm away.

Kyoko massages her wrist and glares at him. "I said that it's none of your business what I do! I made that promise without thinking and I'm tired of letting you lead me into things like this. _You_ made all of this happen!" Kyoko gestures around her, signifying her current situation. "I'm in Tokyo because you asked me to come with you. I entered show business because of your actions. Then you do all of this because someone besides you is making my heart move!?"

Sho trembles with anger. Hearing her say the words nearly sends him in a fury. "_Move_!? He makes your heart _move_ now? Are you really that pathetic, that love is all that's on your mind?" Sho grabs both of her arms and roughly pulls her closer. "You. Are. Mine."

Kyoko tries to shake him off, "let me go!" But she flinches as Sho squeezes tighter. He looks like he's about to say something else, but he doesn't. Instead he finally lets her go and turns his face away. "You are not to forget your promise, unless you really are that pathetic." He looks at her "I'll drag you back home myself if I have to." Finally, Sho leaves without another word

With his threat still hanging in the air, Kyoko backs up to the wall and slides her back down it until she is kneeling on the floor. She had never seen him _that_ angry before. She looks down at the wrist he had grabbed to lead her down the hallway. It was still red and starting to bruise. She sighs and shakes her head, dispelling his angry face from her mind before she shakily stands up and leaves. _I'm glad I didn't tell him about mother._

* * *

Kyoko is sitting in her room, going over her script for Box R when her phone vibrates on her table. Now that he ID is in her phone, Kyoko is able to tell who it is before answering. "Hello?"

"_Ah. You're awake."_

Kyoko smiles "Good evening, Tsuruga-san."

She can hear the smile in his voice when he responds. "_Good evening."_

There is a pause.

"Um… Tsuruga-san? Was there something you needed?"

"_No… I just.. I wanted to make sure you were doing alright."_

Kyoko blushed and smiled again as her heart fluttered. _How did I ever resist this man's? _Her anger rose up again as she remembers her afternoon with Shotaro. _And how did I ever fall for _that_ guy?_

"_Um… Mogami-san?" _Ren beckoned as Kyoko still hadn't responded.

"Oh! I'm sorry! Yes, nothing significant had happened with work." Kyoko hastily replied with a salute although she knew he couldn't see. _Don't ruin the good mood because of _that _guy. _"I have been diligent so as to not bring trouble to others!"

"_I wasn't really asking about work… I was asking about you._" Ren replied.

"Ah… Yes... I am fine." She replied again, trying to calm down and not make a fool of herself.

_Good. She must not have seen her mother yet, _Ren thought to himself. "_I'm glad. Well then, it's late. We will be meeting tomorrow as Cain and Setsu so make sure to get some rest."_

"I understand. Goodnight then, Tsuruga-san."

"_Goodnight, Mogami-san."_

* * *

Cain is already inside their hotel room as Setsu opens the door and places her bag on her bed. "Brother, you should go ahead and shower. I'll start dinner in a minute, I just need to unpack."

Cain looks over at her from where he was lounging. Without a word, he stands and starts walking to the bathrooms. At Setsu reaches for her bag, her long sleeves pull back to reveal her bruised wrist. Cain immediately stops and glares at the bruise. He gently but firmly takes her hand and examines it before looking up at her.

"Where the hell did you get this?" He asks, seething.

Setsu does not automatically respond as she tries to think of a Setsu-appropriate explanation. Instead, she tries to withdraw her hand from his. He tightens his grip slightly so that she is unsuccessful.

"Who the f**k grabbed you?" Cain gives her a look that lets her know that she is not getting away without answering him.

"Brother, stop. No one. I simply tripped and landed on it wrong." She tries again to pull her hand away, but Cain lifts it so she can see for herself.

"Finger marks" is all he says, not fooled. _I just talked to her last night and she said nothing happened. So where did this come from? _

Setsu looks away and whips her hand out of his, tired of his questioning. "Fine. If you won't shower then I will." She quickly grabs some clothes from her bag and walks into the bathroom. She is removing her outer, long-sleeved vest when Cain walks in. Intending to continue with his questioning, he once again stops to look at her. On both arms are grip marks from where Sho also grabbed her.

Setsu blanches. _Crap! _"Brother!" She hastily tries to push him out of the bathroom, knowing she has completely out of character. "Don't you know better than to enter a bathroom while a girl is bathing? Out! Out!"

Cain doesn't budge as continues to stare at her bruises. "Setsu…" Finally he looks up at her, all anger gone. "I'm sorry."

She is taken aback by is apology. "Sorry…? For what?" She pauses. "You know I'm not really angry about you coming in here." Finally switching back into full Setsu-mode, she smirks "In fact, you're free to join me in here any time."

He doesn't seem to register her words as he reaches up and touches her bruises. "I should have protected you," he says as he looks at her bruises once more. His anger is slowly burned inside, but he doesn't want to frighten her. He would do anything for this girl. _If only I wasn't so useless…_

Setsu's heart breaks at the pain on her brother's face. She brings her hand up to his cheek, causing him to look into her eyes again. "Brother… This isn't your fault. You…" Setsu looks down, not able to meet his eyes as too much of Kyoko comes to the surface. "You already do so much for me. Just knowing you are here for me gives me strength… Your very existence is already enough to make me feel protected."

Cain looks at her, surprised by her warm words.

She looks back up at him, trying to maintain Setsu's face. "I love you... brother."


	5. Meeting

**Here's another chapter! Sorry if it's not that great. I have a ton of finals right now so I'm a little overwhelmed. I hope you enjoy and review my story! Thanks! -Shimizu**

* * *

_Cain looks at her, surprised by her warm words._

_She looks back up at him, trying to maintain Setsu's face. "I love you... brother."_

* * *

Setsu does her best to maintain her cool demeanor even though she felt like her heart would burst. She removes her hand from his cheek and watches for Cain's reaction, but he's frozen. _That's odd… _"Brother? Did you hear me?"

Cain realizes his mistake. He should have responded right away with an embrace or something someone with a sister-complex would do. He sighs, _Right… She is saying it as Setsu. There's no way Mogami-san would say those words._

Perplexed about Cain's continued silence, Setsu touches his arm with her injured wrist's hand without thinking. Her wrist caught Cain's eye and he is reminded about why all of this is happening in the first place.

"Setsu… Tell me what happened." He wasn't giving up.

Setsu sighs in frustration, "Stupid brother. Fine." She walks out of the bathroom and over to her bed to sits down. She crosses her arms to express her annoyance. "Nothing really happened. A bug got mad and bit me" is all she said.

_Bug…? Ah. She doesn't mean… _him. Cain clenches his fist as realization dawns on him. _Finger marks... a bug… It has to be. _"So you're still talking to _him_."

"Brother just stop." Setsu stands abruptly, walks to Cain and grabs his face. "I handled it. What happened does not matter. I'm here, I'm okay and I just told you I love you and you ignored me." She drops her hands and pouts. "I see my love isn't important to you…" Setsu attempts a last-ditch effort to get him off topic, though she's moving onto a topic that's equally as dangerous to her.

It works. Cain, surprised by her words, grabs her and pulls her into an embrace. "I'm sorry, Setsu. You know I love you."

Setsu's heart speeds up, so she places her hands on his chest and gently pushes away so she can create a bit of distance between the two of them. _He'll feel my heart race like this. _She smiles up at him "Good."

* * *

Setsu is taking a shower as Cain sits on his bed in contemplation. Her bruise marks flash through his mind and he flinches as his anger threatens to boil over. _He_ had hurt her. Sho Fuwa had dared to grab her hard enough to bruise her in multiple places. He remembers his conversation with Fuwa when they were in the parking garage. His fists clench. _If he ever touches her again… _He gasps. He had finally decided to forgive his actions as Kuon, but he could never forgive himself for repeating them. Cain sighs deeply, trying to release his anger. _Still…_

Setsu steps out of the bathroom then and cuts off his train of thought. "We should get to bed. It's too late for dinner and we have to get up early, so I'll just make breakfast."

Without a word, Cain lays down on his bed, pulls his covers over him and pretends to go to sleep. Setsu rolls her eyes with a chuckle as her brother's sleeping habits. _Why does he always sleep in his clothes? _She climbs into bed herself and, erasing the day's events from her mind, drifts to sleep.

* * *

It is late the next day when the filming is finally finished for the day. Cain and Setsu meet with Muse to have their disguises removed.

"What's with these dark circles, Kyoko-chan?" Muse tsks. "Your image is everything. You have to take better care of yourself."

Kyoko forces a laugh and simply agrees with her admonishing. "I'll keep that in mind." _It's been a rough few weeks… _

"Anyway, I'm done. We'll won't meet for a week, so take care of yourself until then. I expect to see you better!"

Kyoko bows her thanks and steps out of her van. Ren is leaning against his car, waiting on her. "Thought you could use a lift. It's late." He opens the passenger door that he was leaning on for her.

Kyoko flushes lightly and steps into the car. "Thank you, Tsuruga-san."

He smiles sweetly down at her. "It's no problem at all."

The ride to her home is filled with light conversation about work plans and everyday things. Finally, the mood between the two of them has completely lightened after their debacle the night before. He pulls up beside where she is staying and is about to say goodbye when he looks past Kyoko's shoulder and sees someone standing outside the restaurant.

"Who's that?" Ren asks cautiously. The restaurant is closed. He doesn't want Kyoko to get out if it's someone dangerous.

"Eh?" Kyoko turns in her seat and freezes. "M-Mother…" _I would recognize her anywhere._

Hearing her words, Ren blanches. _No… Why is she here?_

Kyoko opens the door and steps out.

"Mogami-san! Wai-" His words are cut off by Kyoko closing the car door. She bows to him as thanks and he can see her trembling lightly. She turns around and walks to where her mother is standing. "Sh**!" Ren grips his steering wheel and slowly drives away. He stops a block down. _I can't leave her like that!_ He turns his car off, gets out and runs as quietly as he can back to where he dropped Kyoko off. He stops when he hears their voices as he doesn't want them to know he's there.

"So we finally get to meet. You've ignored my calls enough as is." Her mother spits out her words at Kyoko. She quickly steps up to Kyoko and slaps her across the face.

Kyoko's knees immediately give out and she falls to the ground. She touches a hand to her stinging cheek as she looks up at her mother in shock. Her whole body is trembling. "Mo-"

Her mother scoffs in disgust. "Don't call me that. Have you no shame? Doing something like becoming an actress. You're nothing but an embarrassment. You always have been."

Still in shock, Kyoko is unable to respond. Ren is still just beyond the wall between the house and the street, and he too is in shock. Suddenly, he hears a sob escape from Kyoko's throat and he immediately rushes out. "Wait a minute!"


	6. Impact

**YAY! My finals are over, so I thought I'd write another quick chapter. I hope you enjoy :) Please continue to review my story. They help me more than you guys think. Thanks- Shimizu**

* * *

_"So we finally get to meet. You've ignored my calls enough as is." Her mother spits out her words at Kyoko. She quickly steps up to Kyoko and slaps her across the face._

_Kyoko's knees immediately give out and she falls to the ground. She touches a hand to her stinging cheek as she looks up at her mother in shock. Her whole body is trembling. "Mo-"_

_Her mother scoffs in disgust. "Don't call me that. Have you no shame? Doing something like becoming an actress. You're nothing but an embarrassment. You always have been."_

_Still in shock, Kyoko is unable to respond. Ren is still just beyond the wall between the house and the street, and he too is in shock. Suddenly, he hears a sob escape from Kyoko's throat and he immediately rushes out. "Wait a minute!"_

* * *

Everyone freezes, including Ren. _Sh*t… Without thinking… _Then he looks down at Kyoko, who was still trembling on the ground and holding her cheek. Once again, his anger flares. He straightens up and meets her mother's startled eyes.

"You… Ren Tsuruga? Why are you here?" Kyoko's mother is surprised by the sudden appearance of Japan's number one man. She had seen them together in Dark Moon, but she didn't think they would actually be close.

Ren closes his eyes to tame his anger. _Behave… This is her mother. _Ren clenches his fists and stiffly bows. "Ma'am. I apologize, but I was worried about my junior getting inside her house safely" he easily lies.

Finally, Kyoko seems to come back to life. _Wha- Tsuruga-san!? _She glances up at him and, though he is still in a bow, their eyes meet. Ren's eyes then land on her swollen cheek. _Eh…? _Kyoko gasps lightly as she observes Ren's expression- one she knows all too well. Only this time, she senses that it isn't directed at her. _But… Why?_

Kyoko's mother crosses her arms in defense, knowing he must have heard their little confrontation. "Well as you can see, she's safe. You can go now."

"I see…" Ren takes a deep breath and stands straight. _I'm not leaving yet…_ "I'm sorry, I am being rude. My name is Ren Tsuruga. I work with Mogami-san on occasion." He extends his hand to her.

She hesitates, sizing him up. _Maybe he didn't hear all of it then… But, he did jump out. I don't know… _She takes his hand to shake it. "Saena Mogami."

Kyoko stands up then and squares her shoulders. _What am I doing? _"I'm sorry mother, but I have to go" she says although she is unable to meet her eyes. She turns to Ren. "May I speak to you for a minute?"

"Wait a min-" Saena starts, but Ren cuts her off.

"Of course, Moga- No. You're both Mogami-san, so… Kyoko-san?" Ren smiles his fake smile. He would do anything to separate Kyoko from her mother right now. _Plus distractions never hurt…_

Hearing her name makes Kyoko jump and blush. _Wah!_ "P-P-Please come in!" _Mother is here… Get it together._ She leads Ren inside Darumaya.

Ren turns to close the door behind them and lets his gentlemanly façade fade as he meets Saena's eyes. She is startled by his expression and narrows her eyes at him.

_So he did hear then…_

With the door closed and Kyoko is safe, Ren lets out a sigh and turns to face Kyoko's questions. Surely she would wonder why he's here when she clearly saw him drive away. However he stops when he sees Kyoko sitting at a table, hunched over in depression as she once again touches her still-stinging cheek.

"Kyoko…" Ren whispers. He looks around and finds their fridge. He grabs a kitchen towel, wraps some ice in it and walks over to crouch down in front of Kyoko. He gently takes her hand from her cheek and places the towel-wrapped ice in her hand. Their eyes meet, but neither says a word. He places her hand back against her cheek so the ice can cool it and lets his hand continue to rest over hers.

She continues to just watch Ren. _I'm making Tsuruga-san worry… I have to cheer up. _Kyoko smiles and takes the towel away from her cheek, making Ren's hand drop from hers. "Don't worry, I'm okay. I'm sorry you had to see something so embarrassing."

Ren is not fooled by her acting and she can feel his eyes scrutinizing her face. Once more, his eyes land on her cheek. _Good… It's not as puffy. But it's still so red. _He can still hear the sound of her mother's hand landing on her cheek and he flinches at the memory. He reaches up and lightly strokes her cheek.

"I'm fine! Really!" Kyoko says as brightly as she can. Her acting is then betrayed by her tears. "Eh? That's weird." She wipes the tears away. "I don't know why I'm crying. It's no big deal, really." _Stop… Stop crying. Stop! _She continues to furiously wipe her tears away as she begins to tremble once more.

Ren still has a hand on her cheek and he catches her next tear before she can wipe it away. "Be careful. You'll hurt your cheek." He brings his other hand up to cup her face as he looks into her eyes. He sees the torment in them. "It's okay. Just cry." Seeing her like this is killing him inside and renews his anger for her mother.

Kyoko stares into his eyes and finally gives up. She drops her head and lets her tears flow freely. Ren pulls her into an embrace and she grips his shirt as she continues to cry into him. "I-I'm s-s-sorry…" she manages to say through her sobs. "Y-your sh-shirt."

Ren softly chuckles. _She would worry about that right now. _"It's fine… Don't worry about that."

Kyoko continues to cry as Ren continues to hold her. Again, neither one of them says anything. Eventually she falls asleep and one of the owners of Darumaya, Okami, comes down to see what the commotion is about. Though she is startled to see Ren holding a sleeping Kyoko, she simply points him to Kyoko's room and he carries her to her bed. He laughs quietly. _If she knew I did this, she would never let herself live it down. _He watches her sleep soundly for a moment before he leaves her room. He bows goodnight to Okami and makes his way back to his car. _At least she seems to have calmed down… _He grips his steering wheel as the memory of the slap comes back. _What can I do…?_ He grabs his phone.

* * *

Kyoko wakes with a start. _Eh? How did I get here? _She drowsily gets up and looks in the mirror. She takes in her swollen eyes and messy hair. _I look awful. _She suddenly remembers crying into Ren and blushes furiously. _Nooooo! What did I do!? _She swats away the memory as she wishes she could disappear. She sighs and decides to goes to bathe before she faces anyone with her face like that. She walks downstairs to find that Okami and her husband, Taisho, have made a big breakfast. They don't want to upset her further by asking what happened last night, so they attempt to cheer her up with the food. Of course, it works.

* * *

Kyoko makes her way to LME and she is informed that Lory has been looking for her. She checks her phone and sees that she has a missed call from him. She hits redial and Lory answers quickly.

"_Mogami-kun. Good morning."_

"Good morning, President."

He wastes no time. _"Could you come to my office sometime today? I have something I want to discuss with you." _

_Eh? _"Of course. I'm already in the building. Is now a bad time?"

"_It's fine. Come on up."_

They both hang up and Lory sighs. Ren had called him after leaving her house last night to talk about what happened. They both came up with a solution, but they figured she would not accept it easily.

A few minutes later Lory's assistant knocks on his door. "Sir, Mogami-sama has arrived. Shall I let her in?"

"Yes." Lory responds as he lights a cigar.

Kyoko comes in and bows to Lory. "Good morning."

Lory lets out a puff of smoke and asks her to sit. "I have something we need to discuss. I've thought of this before, but I think now is a good time with your rising popularity."

Kyoko just stands there, taking in his words. _Huh?_

Lory can see the confusion written on her face. He remembers his conversation with Ren the night before.

"_She won't accept it easily, but you have to get her to. She can't be left alone like tonight. If something like this happens again and no one is around to stop it…" Lory can almost hear Ren shudder. "I know you had mentioned it before, but I think it's time."_

Lory smiles at the memory of Ren's protectiveness. _At least he's using that anger for something constructive. _He looks back at Kyoko, who is still lost in confusion. "I want to assign you a manager."


	7. Taking Control

**Ask and you will receive! I tried to make a longer chapter. This took forever, but I enjoy it and it cures my boredom :) I hope you enjoy. Please review! I want to know what you think and if there are any changes I can make. Oh! And I hope the name of her manager isn't too weird. It took me an hour to pick out the names. **

* * *

_Lory lets out a puff of smoke and asks her to sit. "I have something we need to discuss. I've thought of this before, but I think now is a good time with your rising popularity."_

_Kyoko just stands there, taking in his words. Huh?_

_Lory can see the confusion written on her face. He remembers his conversation with Ren the night before._

_"She won't accept it easily, but you have to get her to. She can't be left alone like tonight. If something like this happens again and no one is around to stop it…" Lory can almost hear Ren shudder. "I know you had mentioned it before, but I think it's time."_

_Lory smiles at the memory of Ren's protectiveness. At least he's using that anger for something constructive. He looks back at Kyoko, who is still lost in confusion. "I want to assign you a manager."_

* * *

"Eh? I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you right. Could you repeat that?" Kyoko was completely flustered. No way could she accept the help of a manager when she was such a newbie.

"A manager. I am going to assign one to you." Lory walks over to his desk a moves around a few folders of prospective managers for her. Kyoko notices that he was not asking her. He was telling her. "There are some good options. I'd like you to have a male. He'll offer more protection." _Definitely someone classy. Ren may have had a cool demeanor when I mentioned it, but it would make things more interesting._

"President, there's no such need! Not for someone like me!" Kyoko shouts. _It's unthinkable!_

"You've gained a lot of popularity lately. Especially with Box R about to air. People want to see what else the girl who played Mio can do." He picks one of the files up and examines it. "I was thinking of this one. Ryouta Sato. He's only 22, but he's been around the business for a few years so he knows how to take care of people." Lory looks back at Kyoko will a no-nonsense expression. "He'll be good for you."

Kyoko wants to say more, but gives up on resisting his order. She knows better by now. "Thank you for the consideration. I will leave the decision up to you" Kyoko assents with a polite bow. She sighs and glances as the folder still in his hands. _To think this would be happening already. I can understand someone like Tsuruga-san having Yashiro, but not me._

Lory smiles at his easy victory. "Good. I'll have him come up to meet you now. I had already spoken to him earlier about you."

_Eh!? Now? _Kyoko once again freaks out. _So fast… I wasn't expecting to meet him so soon._ "Y-Yes sir!"

Lory looks at his assistant that appears out of nowhere, and he leaves the room to retrieve Ryouta.

A short while later and Lory's assistant is back with a knock on his door. "Sir. I have retrieved Sato-sama."

"Let him in."

His assistant bows deeply and disappears. Moments later a tall man in a tailored dark gray suit with a black shirt steps in and bows in greeting. Kyoko is startled by how young he looks considering his sophisticated appearance. He looks handsome enough to even be a model on Ren's level. His dark brown hair is styled back to stay out of his face and, when he stands straight again, Kyoko notices his deep, dark chocolate brown eyes. Eyes that are currently curiously staring back in hers, waiting for a response to something she never heard.

She looks around, confused and embarrassed that she missed whatever was said. "What?"

Ryouta laughs, but its Lory who speaks first. "This is Kyoko Mogami."

Realizing that he must have been just introducing himself, Kyoko hastily bows and nearly shouts. "I apologize for being rude. I am Kyoko Mogami. Please take care of me!" She squeezes her eyes shut in embarrassment and hears Ryouta chuckle again.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." He smiles kindly and Kyoko finally stands straight to meet his eyes once again.

"Alright you guys, Mogami-kun has work I believe so you can get to know each other on the way." Lory produces a set of keys and passes them to Ryouta. Ryouta takes them without question, but Kyoko voices her concern.

"Sir? What are those for?"

"A car, obviously. We don't expect you to always walk to locations. LME provides them for our stars' use." Lory responds simply.

Kyoko is about to speak up, but Ryouta speaks up first.

"If we don't leave, you'll be late. I have already received your schedule beforehand. You're due at Box R in an hour." Kyoko turns to look at him just in time to notice him placing a planner back in his suit's inner breast pocket.

She struggles to fully grasp everything that has happened in such a short time, but she gives up and walks out the door after bowing goodbye to Lory. Ryouta follows her and they both head down to LME's parking garage. Kyoko steals glances up at him, and Ryouta chuckles again.

"Don't worry, I'll stay out of your as much as possible. I'm just here to help." Ryouta finally speaks up as he senses Kyoko's depression growing while they get into their newly acquired car.

Kyoko snaps her head up and looks at him. "Wa- No! That's not it! I appreciate you being here. You will be very helpful." Kyoko's excited voice dies down and Ryouta glances over at her as he pulls out of the garage. "I'm sorry. I just haven't been in this business for long. I didn't expect to be assigned a manager so soon. I feel like you could have been put with someone better."

Ryouta smiles as he remembers Lory's warning about Kyoko's disposition. _She really is hard on herself, huh? I've seen her work._ He glances at her and tries to imagine her as the beautiful angel in Sho Fuwa's pv or the sophisticated Mio of Dark Moon. He shakes his head and laughs at the impossibility. _She's scary._

"Um… Sato-san?" Kyoko says when he doesn't respond. _Did I upset him? Does he want to agree? _Questions swirl in her mind as she puts herself back into a depression.

Ryouta laughs again at her expression. _Well… I'll never get bored. _"Ryou."

She is startled by his one word answer. "Eh?"

"We'll be working together from now on. People just call me Ryou, so please do the same." He smiles at her. "And you're better than you give yourself credit for."

Kyoko blushes and drops her head in embarrassment at his words, but she smiles and thanks him.

_Ooh?_ Ryouta observes her cute expression. _Hm…_

* * *

Finally, Ryouta and Kyoko arrive at the Box R filming location. They are filming outside again and they quickly arrive at the makeup trailer. Ryouta greets the makeup artists. They both blush at him and get to work on Kyoko after he steps out of the trailer. Even from outside can hear their squeals.

Sometime later, Kyoko steps out as Natsu. Ryouta, who was leaning against a tree for shade, notices her coming out and starts toward her. However, he stops when he takes in her appearance. He chuckles under his breath. _Scary indeed… _He finishes the distance between them. "You look good."

Now in Natsu mode, she smiles "Thanks." She starts walking toward the set with Ryouta following behind. When he and Kyoko greet the director, Kyoko's phone rings and she excuses herself and steps away to answer it.

"Ah! Good afternoon Tsuruga-san!" Kyoko snaps out of Natsu mode and blushes into her phone. Ryouta, now alone, notices her blush and raises his eye brows although she doesn't notice.

"How are you doing?_" _Ren asks. He was awake all night thinking about her.

"I'm doing fine. Thank you for asking." Kyoko drops her voice so hopefully no one can hear. Unfortunately for her, Ryouta still does. "Thank you for helping me last night…" _He had to of been the one to carry me upstairs and putting me in bed. I can't believe I made him do that!_

Hearing the embarrassment in her voice, Ren guesses she knows about being carried and smiles. _"_It's no problem at all. Besides, you were very light._"_

If Kyoko could explode, she would. Her worst fears were confirmed. "I-I-I'm so sorry!" She stops abruptly when she notices she's being too loud. Much more softly, she starts again. "I'm so sorry you had to do that. But thank you… It must have been because you were there that I was able to sleep peacefully after what happened…" Kyoko blushes again.

This time, its Ren's heart that wants to explode. _Ah… No. Don't get your hopes up now… _He tells himself. The words she just mumbled repeat in his mind and he smiles with a deep sense of happiness. _I love her… "_You're very welcome, Mogami-san._" _He uses her surname to try to distance his feelings from the moment. Otherwise, he fears they will come bubbling out after all that's happened.

Satisfied that she sounds okay, Ren lets Kyoko go. They both say their goodbyes and Kyoko turns around and notices a smiling Ryouta looking at her. She turns to stone.

"Tsuruga-san, huh? As in Ren Tsuruga?" Ryouta asks.

Kyoko unfreezes "Ah! Yes! He is my senior! We have worked together a few times!" Kyoko answers with a little too much energy.

"Mogami-san! We're ready for you!" One of the set workers calls, saving her.

Ryouta watches her as she gets back into Natsu mode and begins to work. He recalls her expression when speaking to Ren. _Interesting…_

* * *

At the end of the day, Ryouta drops Kyoko off at her house and sees her safely inside. As he walks back to the car, his phone rings with a strange number. "Hello?"

"_Hello. This is Ren Tsuruga. I apologize for calling so late and out of the blue, but I have something I would like to talk to you about."_

Ryouta is genuinely surprised and intrigued. _Ren Tsuruga? _"Ah yes, I heard Mogami-san speaking to you earlier. What can I help you with?" He responds in business mode, but a smirk is plastered on his face. _These two… They definitely have more than a senior/junior relationship._

"_Ah. I see. Well I think it would better to meet to talk about this face to face. It's concerning Mogami-san's safety."_

Ryouta is startled by this. _Her safety? _"What do you mean? Is she in danger?"

"_We can talk about that when we meet."_

Ren tells him where to go and soon they are sitting face to face in a small restaurant. It's late so it is mostly deserted.

Ren wastes no time. "So I've been told that you're Mogami-san's new manager."

"Yes. I am Ryouta Sato. I've been with LME for a few years so I know how to effectively take care of someone as their manager." Ryouta answers smoothly. _If her safety is in question, that's no problem._

Ren pauses as he studies Ryouta. He didn't enjoy the idea of some other man taking care of Kyoko. Naturally, he immediately cools to him. "I understand that. However, safety does not only pertain to keeping her from physical harm." _Although it does in this case also… _Ren contemplates as he remembers Kyoko getting slapped.

Ryouta waits for him to continue, confused as to where he was going with this.

"Something has happened recently. I won't go into too much detail, because it's not my place. But I want to make sure she will be okay. It's why I asked the President to assign her a manager." Ren sighs and tries to shake away his sullen mood.

Ryouta doesn't fail to take note that it was Ren who got him his job with Kyoko. However, he still doesn't respond.

"Someone from Mogami-san's past has shown up. Someone I would rather she not meet because of certain circumstances. Unfortunately, they did last night. I was there to stop it from escalating, but Mogami-san was shaken up by it. I would hate to imagine what would have happened if I had not been there to put an end to it..." Ren trails off and Ryouta raises an eye brow when Ren clenches his fists on the table. "But she'll be back."

"She?" Ryouta asks.

Ren looks right at him with a glare. Ryouta fights an involuntary shiver at his expression. _If looks could kill… I'm definitely right about their relationship being deeper than they let on._

"Yes… It is a female." Ren's knuckles turn white.

"Well… I will do my best to watch out for Mogami-san. It would help if I knew who I had to keep my eye out for, but I won't let Mogami-san out of my sight as long as I can help it." Ryouta responded calmly, a stark contrast to the intense atmosphere Ren was putting off.

Once again, Ren cringed at the idea of this man protecting Kyoko. _Once again, I'm unable to be the one to protect her… _he thinks as he recalls the incident with Reino of Vie Ghoul. He stands and looks down at Ryouta. "Thank you for looking out for Kyoko." He pointedly says her name, but he curses himself for acting this was. He is not so much angry at Ryouta as he is himself.

Ryouta chuckles at the ice in Ren's voice. "She's lucky to have such a protective senior in the company." As he also stands, he smiles and decides to test Ren's buttons "Thank you for getting me this job with _Kyoko_. I will be sure to take good care of her."

Catching on, Ren quickly reverts to his typical gentlemanly smile. Deep inside he is seething, but all that really matters to him is Kyoko's safety. "I appreciate that. I should be going. Thank you for meeting with me. Goodnight." Ren quickly leaves.

Ryouta chokes back laughter. _So that's how it is… _Ryouta gathers his suit jacket. _Actors... Always hiding their true faces._

* * *

_"So we finally get to meet. You've ignored my calls enough as is." Her mother spits out her words at Kyoko. She quickly steps up to Kyoko and slaps her across the face._

_Kyoko's knees immediately give out and she falls to the ground. She touches a hand to her stinging cheek as she looks up at her mother in shock. Her whole body is trembling. "Mo-"_

_Her mother scoffs in disgust. "Don't call me that. Have you no shame? Doing something like becoming an actress. You're nothing but an embarrassment. You always have been."_

_Her mother steps up to her and kneels down in front of Kyoko. She brings her hand back for another slap._

Kyoko wakes up early with a gasp as her phone rings loudly. She waits a moment for her heart to calm before she answers it.

_"Good morning, Mogami-san. I will be there in 30 minutes. According to your schedule, you are due to play Bo in two hours. I thought we could stop for a quick breakfast beforehand." _Ryouta is all business.

Kyoko pauses before answering. "I understand... I will meet you out front of Darumaya." Ryouta can tell something is wrong by her voice, but chooses not to ask.

Thirty minutes later Ryouta shows up and Kyoko is waiting outside for him. She enters the car and Ryouta looks at her disapprovingly.

"You shouldn't wait alone outside."

"Eh? Why not?" Kyoko asks confusingly.

Realizing that she doesn't know that he knows anything about what is going on, Ryouta tries a different tactic. "The sun. It's bright right now. If I had been late, you could've burned. Gotten dehydrated. Anything. You're a star now- you have to take care of yourself." _Hopefully she's as gullible as I've heard..._

Kyoko bows as deeply as the car will allow and quickly apologizes. "I'm so sorry! I will be better about things like that!"

_She is... _Ryouta chuckles.

* * *

They arrive at the studio and Ryouta waits outside the dressing room while Kyoko changes into Bo. He's double checking his planner out of boredom when he notices Ren walking down the hallway with Yashiro. Their eyes meet and Ren makes his way to Ryouta with Yashiro following behind in confusion.

"Good morning, I'm Yukihito Yashiro. Ren's manager." Yashiro bows.

Ryouta bows in return. "Ryouta Sato. Mogami-san's new manager."

Yashiro is shocked by this news. _Ehhhhh!? The President really did get a classy one!_ He examines the looks between the two of them and sighs. _This isn't good._

"Would you like me to let Mogami-san know that you are here once she finishes changing? Though it might be difficult to talk once she's suited up." Ryouta fights a laugh as he remembers the chicken costume Kyoko showed him.

"Ren, we don't have much time." Yashiro states. "Your interview will begin soon."

Ren notices Ryouta's expression and ignores Yashiro's warning. "Suited up?"

On the other side of the door, Kyoko notices that Ryouta is talking to someone. _Eh? _She walks closer to hear better.

"Yes. For her regular spot on 'Bridge Rock'." Ryouta says simply, assuming Ren already knew.

"Oh. I didn't know she had another regular spot other than Natsu on 'Box R'." Yashiro says confusingly.

Kyoko recognizes Yashiro's voice and knows it must be him and Ren.

Ryouta openly chuckles. "Well I'm not sure how keen she is on this job as she has to dress up in a chicken suit."

Yashiro laughs as he tries to picture Kyoko as a chicken. However, Ren freezes. "Chicken?" _Wait... Isn't this were I meet...?_

Kyoko finally realizes where the conversation is going and hastily tries to grab the door knob to stop Ryouta before he can reveal her secret. She's too late.

"Yes." Ryouta clears his throat to stop his laughter. "One that goes by the name of Bo."


	8. Date

**Okay so this chapter is much shorter than the last one. You guys are lucky I stopped myself last night when I was about to post a chapter. I was exhausted and it SUCKED. Lol oh well. This is much different that what last night's was going to be. Also, I want to say thank you to all my readers! I am so glad you took the time to see what I've written. And I want to give a special thanks to everyone who has reviewed my story. Your comments keep me going and I love Love LOVE reading all of them and I take everyone's comments to heart. I even try to incorporate some suggestions I get. They make my day :) I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

_Yashiro laughs as he tries to picture Kyoko as a chicken. However, Ren freezes. "Chicken?"__Wait... Isn't this were I meet...?_

_Kyoko finally realizes where the conversation is going and hastily tries to grab the door knob to stop Ryouta before he can reveal her secret. She's too late._

_"Yes." Ryouta clears his throat to stop his laughter. "One that goes by the name of Bo."_

_It's been a few days since then… Tsuruga-san must be shocked. _Kyoko thinks as she washes Natsu's makeup off of her face. _I can't imagine what he must be thinking…_

* * *

Ryouta watches her with curiosity. Ever since that day, he has noticed Kyoko sinking into a depressed mood. _Hm… It must be regarding _that. _When I told them that she was playing Bo, Ren made the same face as when I tried to push his buttons. _He can still see Ren's gentlemanly smile in his mind. One that Ryouta now equated with Ren hiding his true thoughts. _But… why?_ He looks back at Kyoko. _And why is she so depressed about it? _He thinks back on what happened.

Kyoko never opened the door when the conversation happened. Instead, Ren simply smiled and said "Is that so." Afterwards, he and Yashiro quickly left. Kyoko nearly jumped right out of her skin when Ryouta entered the room to check on her as it was taking her a long time to change into Bo. He assumed she had heard what was said between him and Ren, and he was about to ask, but she slammed Bo's head down on herself and ran as fast as the suit allowed away. Since then, he was not able to broach the subject with her. _She must have heard, but why is she upset about it? Is she embarrassed?_

Now Kyoko was sighing heavily. With her makeup completely off, she gathered her things with Ryouta's help and they left for the day. On the drive home, Kyoko did not say a word and Ryouta couldn't bring himself to break the silence.

_What the hell happened between them? _Ryouta asks himself, irritated.

Once Kyoko is inside and in her room, she checks her phone for the millionth time. Once again she sees that she has no calls from Ren and sighs. _He's probably angry. His junior hid something like this from him and even dared to offer him advice. _She glances at her calendar hanging on the wall with a sense of dread. Around tomorrows date is a circle with Setsu's name written below. _How am I going to face him like this? Especially since we're staying together for a week._

* * *

The next morning, Ryouta shows up to pick Kyoko. Originally he very shocked to hear about her project with Ren. For two young actors to pretend to be brother and sister with a questionable relationship, live together, and perform a role without anyone realizing their identities… Ryouta was dumbfounded. But now he was also intrigued as to how it would all turn out, especially with the atmosphere between the two now. Ryouta glances at Kyoko and sees the concern etched on her face. _Well… We'll see what happens. _He pulls up where they are meeting Muse so that she can become Setsu and puts the car in park so he can turn and face Kyoko. Kyoko was about to get out, but stopped when she noticed him.

"Mogami-san. If I am going to be an effective manager that can watch your back, I need to know. What happened with you and Ren?"

Kyoko is startled by his sudden question, but she knows he's right. She looks down at her fingers that are nervously twisting together in her lap. "Bo."

Ryouta waits and when she doesn't continue, he speaks up. "What?"

She sighs. "When I first acted as Bo, I accidently ran into Tsuruga-san. He seemed troubled by something so I approached him. However, I did not reveal who I was. After that I met with him a few more times as Bo, and helped him with some things… I even gave him love advice of all things." Her head sunk even lower. "He must be in shock that someone below him would do these things behind his back…"

_Love advice? From her…?_ Ryouta fights his laughter. "Did he confess something to you that he shouldn't of?" _Like his obvious love for you._

"Eh? No. Nothing like that." _Although I did find out that he loves someone… _She sinks into a further depression.

"Hm… Then it really seems like no big deal." Ryouta says simply. "You hid your identity and helped him with some things. What's so terrible about that?"

"B-But!"

"No buts. Now let's go. We have to finish up here so we can get to the hotel. He's waiting for you I'm sure." Ryouta turns the car off and gets out and Kyoko follows suit.

* * *

They pull up to the hotel and Setsu steps out alone. Through the car's window, Ryouta calls to her. "Good luck!" Setsu sighs and walks inside the hotel. At the door to their room, Setsu hesitates with the key part way in its slot. _It'll be okay. _She takes a deep breath and inserts the key.

Setsu steps in the room and casually walks to her bed to set her things down. Cain is not in the bedroom, but she can hear some rustling in the bathroom. She goes about unpacking as Cain finally steps out of the bathroom. He leans against the doorjamb and watches her. Feeling his stare, Setsu pauses to looks up at him.

"What?"

"Nothing" is all he responds with as he continues to stare at her.

She quirks an eyebrow at him and chuckles. "Okay. You hungry?"

"No."

_I can't tell what he's thinking… _"Okay." She places her last piece of clothing in its drawer and looks up at him. "Well we have a while until they need you on set." She stands up and brushes off her pants. "What do you want to do?" Looking back up at him, she is startled to see him much closer.

_This girl… _He recalls when Bo helped him realize he was falling for her. Now that he knows it was her under the chicken costume, he realizes that she truly felt nothing special towards him. _Why else would she practically command me to pursue my love interest? She didn't know that it was her…_

"Brother?" She notices his expression turning darker. "What's wrong?"

_But what about now…? How does she feel _now_? Just like this…_ He lifts his hand and strokes her cheek affectionately. She stands immobile in confusion and concern. _I can reach out and touch her. But what about when this project is over?_ He lets his hand drop. _She won't be by my side like this again._ He turns away from her and takes a few steps toward the door. He knew that he should have done better to stop his feelings for her from growing, but it was much too late now. He wanted her more than anything else in this world. He bangs his fist on the wall beside him. _Dam*it!_

Setsu jumps and quickly steps forward to grab the hand that he used to hit the wall. "Brother!" She examines it as Cain watches her face that is filled with concern.

_She doesn't hesitate to touch me because I'm her "brother"… _He remembers when they met again after the night she gave him a kiss mark and the face she made. _She turned blue… Like it was a terrible thing. _He remembers how it felt when she kissed him, although he was pretending to be Kuon and it barely counted as a kiss. All the time he's spent with her- all the frustration, angst, and jealousy comes boiling up within him. At the same time, his love that has been testing his control recently overpowers him. _I understand she couldn't tell me. I understand she thought I hated her back then. But after all this time… _He thinks back on the last few days.

Upon finding out that Kyoko was Bo, he was shocked. He thought Bo was a man and relied on her for various things. But to know that Kyoko was the one who had secretly helped him in his times of need filled him with a sense of warmth. He appreciated that she went to such great lengths for him. However, he could not forget their conversation about love now. How she described how love felt for her made his heart constrict knowing it wasn't for him. How easily she encouraged him to pursue some woman she thought she didn't know saddened him.

Now standing in front of the girl in question, the man behind Cain's façade was struggling with his desires._ All I want is her… _"Setsu. I promised you I'd take you on another date." He walks over and grabs her coat. He throws it to her and she easily catches it, although she is intensely confused. "Let's go." He waits until she is finished wordlessly putting on her coat, and he takes her hand. _Until this time is up… I want to touch her._

* * *

They spend time leisurely window shopping, and once again Setsu is forced to persuade Cain not to buy her a bunch of clothes. He would rather buy her enough clothes that cover her body that she won't have to wear anything indecent again, but she won't let him have his way. Cain makes sure that they take their time, so he can spend as much of it as he can with her. As they pass a group of large office buildings, Setsu abruptly stops and stare in the direction of one of their doors. Because they are still holding hands, Cain is forced to stop also. He follows her eyesight to one of the buildings and walking out of it is an older woman with long black hair that's pulled up. tired looking after a long day of work. He would recognize her anywhere now. Kyoko's mother.

Saena, feeling as if someone is watching her, looks up to see Cain and Setsu looking at her. She doesn't recognize either one of them, so she continues walking. However, she stops upon hearing the word "mother" whispered from Setsu's lips. In confusion, she looks back at Setsu. Upon closer examination, she realizes that it is Kyoko.

"Kyoko."

Setsu flinches, realizing that she shouldn't have called out to her. She takes a step back and that is when Saena sees that she is holding hands with Cain.

"Who are you?" Saena asks, furiously.

Cain's only answer is glare that would chill anyone to their core. He grips Setsu's hand tighter and pulls her away.

"Wait a minute!" Saena calls after then and grabs Setsu's shoulder to stop them.

Cain turns to face her again, and places himself between Setsu and Saena. "Don't touch her."

Taken aback, Saena scoffs as she tries to bury her fear of this terrifying man. "I'm her mother. I have every right to touch her!"

Cain takes a step towards her. "Anyone who abandons their child and slaps them has lost that right."

Saena takes a step back, confused. _How does he… _She takes a closer look at him. _Ren Tsuruga!?_


	9. Unwanted Touch

**Here's a new chapter. I hope you enjoy! :) Please review to let me know how I'm doing. They really help. **

* * *

_Taken aback, Saena scoffs as she tries to bury her fear of this terrifying man. "I'm her mother. I have every right to touch her!"_

_Cain takes a step towards her. "Anyone who abandons their child and slaps them has lost that right."_

_Saena takes a step back, confused.__How does he…__She takes a closer look at him.__Ren Tsuruga!?_

* * *

"You…!" Saena stops and looks around. A few bystanders are watching their interaction. She also remembers that she is just outside her workplace. "Come." She says quietly but sternly.

"No." Cain responds. He begins to pulls Setsu's hand again and Setsu tries to follow him, except her mother grabs her again.

"I said to wait!" Saena says a bit louder.

* * *

Meanwhile, a man sitting in traffic in his car notices the scene- at first because of the two darkly dressed people looking wound up and standing out from those around them, but then he recognizes the woman that is standing before them. He sits up to get a better look. _Is that…?_

"Sho?" his manager asks, noticing him taking an interest in something. "What is it?"

He narrows his eyes in disgust at seeing Kyoko's mother. He may not have loved Kyoko back then like she did for him but he did care for her as a friend. He used to try to find ways to comfort her when she was constantly put down by none other than the woman he was now looking at, but he never knew how. _Why is she in Tokyo? I thought she'd still be back in Kyoto._ He pauses. _Wait… Does Kyoko know about this?_ He looks back at the other two people standing with her. Though he sees a resemblance in both of them, he shakes it off. _There's no way that's Kyoko. She may have looked different those times but… _He looks at the man with her. _There's no way someone like Ren Tsuruga can look that… dark. _However he does remember the look he received when he told Ren he saved her from Reino. _Maybe… _Finally the traffic moves and he is carried away from the scene before him.

* * *

At her mother's touch again, Setsu comes alive and snaps herself away from her mother as Cain once again steps between the two of them.

"I said to not touch her." Cain says menacingly.

"Brother, it's okay." She soothes his anger before turning to face the woman in front of her. The woman who, currently, was not "Setsu's" mother. "Setsu" had never met her before. So she pushes "Kyoko" deep down, and faces Saena with a look of indifference. "Can I help you?"

Saena is startled by the look on Setsu's face. If she didn't know any better, she would truly think that this wasn't Kyoko. _She looks like she really doesn't know me. But_ _she clearly said "mother" and he, _she looks at Cain, _he knew what happened the other night. It has to be them._ "Yes. You can actually." She crosses her arms in defiance. "You can pack your things and move back where you belong- Kyoto."

_So that's what she wants… _Setsu quirks and eyebrow at her declaration. "Excuse me, but you must be mistaken. I don't know you." Setsu scoffs. "Who are you to tell me what to do?" She pauses and continues with a softer voice, "I'm never going back there."

Cain looks down at his sister with pride. _She's got her character perfectly, _He thinks. _I wonder if she's used a character like this before…_

As he contemplates this, Saena speaks up again. "I am your mother! You are to listen to what I say."

"No. You're not." Setsu replies with no emotion in her voice and then turns and walks away.

Cain doesn't immediately follow Setsu. Instead, he looks at Saena darkly. "Do not ever approach her again." He turns and follows after his sister and Saena does not follow. When he reaches her, he takes her hand tightly and feels her trembling from fear, anger and sadness. He squeezes her hand in comfort. _I will protect you…_ he thinks but does not voice. She squeezes his hand back, thankful that he is there with her.

_I really can't even begin to deny it anymore… _She smiles slightly. _I'm really in love with Tsuruga-san. _Once they are out of earshot of her mother, Cain sighs heavily. _This has got to stop._ He looks at Setsu and sees the sadness on her face. "Come on. Let's go here." He pulls her hand and leads her into a cute café, not befitting of either one of them with the way they're dressed. The few patrons that are there look at them curiously.

"Brother?" She asks, confused as to why he would take her here of all places.

They both sit at a booth that has no customers sitting nearby. Still without answering Setsu, he glances at the menu and points out some ice cream to Setsu with an expectant face. She laughs, something Cain was aiming for. A waitress appears and Setsu orders the ice cream he was pointing to.

"Coffee." Cain adds as the waitress is about to walk away.

When the waitress returns with their order, Cain glances at Setsu and sees excitement in her eyes at the ice cream sitting before her. _Good._ He smiles warmly at her.

Setsu looks up at him after eating a spoonful, "Aren't you going to have any, brother?"

He takes a sip of his coffee. "No. That's for you."

Realization dawns on her. "Brother… Did you bring me here to cheer me up?"

He takes another drink of his coffee and doesn't answer.

"Thank you…" She says quietly, but happily.

* * *

Cain and Setsu arrive on set and Cain is whisked away to have his special effects makeup put on. Setsu walks by herself to their dressing room as it will be a while until he is finished. As she is walking, her phone rings and when she answers it a voice she despises comes over the phone.

"_Kyoko. We need to talk." _Sho says as soon as she answers.

Knowing that she is in character and cannot talk with him about anything personal, Setsu simply hangs up and turns her phone off. She doesn't want to deal with him right now anyway.

Angered by her hanging up on him, Sho calls her back many times to no avail. _That idiot! Her mom is here and she ignores me!_ He thinks about the two people he saw talking to her mom and wonders if they aren't truly Kyoko and Ren. _But how would I find them like that? _He calls his manager. _I have to find a way.  
_

* * *

Once it is lunch time, Cain and Setsu move to their dressing room together and she gets their lunch prepared. While she does, Cain watches her and contemplates their day, especially how well she used her character to hide her true feelings. He humorlessly chuckles to himself. _Reminds me of someone…_ Setsu hears him chuckle but when she asks about it, he ignores her question. _I wonder if she's hidden anything from me… _Without noticing she was done setting out their food, Cain realizes Setsu is staring at him expectantly. He looks down and sees that she is waiting for him to start eating. He looks back up at her with disinterest in the food. Setsu recognizes the look as one saying he's not going to eat.

"Brother. Eat it yourself or I'll feed you."

He smiles and leans back in his chair. "Then feed me."

_Eh? He actually said it! I thought he would give in! _Setsu smiles sardonically and stands up. Inside, Kyoko is freaking out, but Setsu is as cool as ever. She walks over to her beloved brother, sits on his lap and wraps her arms around his neck. "Okay." She beams another smile. "What first? Salad or soup?"

Cain smiles slightly mischievously up at her and puts his arms around her waist. "How about you?"

Again, Kyoko wants to dig a hole to crawl into, but Setsu leans forward and kisses his forehead. "Maybe later." She turns and picks up his soup that once again has a straw so that his makeup doesn't get messed up. She holds the bowl and points the straw at his lips, offering it to him.

He pouts like a puppy, something she was growing accustomed to, but he drinks the soup without ever taking his eyes from hers.

Setsu chuckles. "Good boy."

Cain is still watching her expressions and is satisfied that she seems to be okay after that morning's events. He tightens his grip on her and then releases her. "Setsu, we need to talk."

At that, she gets off of his lap and goes back to her own seat so she can be attentive without being distracted. "What?"

He takes a deep breath, "No… Mogami-san. I need to talk to _you_."

_Eh? He's never done this before. _She lets her Setsu act drop, knowing that she was no longer talking to "Cain". "W-what is it?" She was frazzled by him dropping his act like this. Not to mention that she was sitting on his lap and feeding him just moments ago.

"It's about what's been happening lately. I realize I haven't really talked to you about it much and we should."

Kyoko nods, understanding his rationale.

"About being that chicken…"

Kyoko bristles and Ren notices her terror. Suddenly, he laughs and she stares at him in confusion.

"I'm sorry," he says between laughs. "I know you were probably scared of how I'd react. To be honest, I was upset at first." He takes on his typical scolding tone. "To think my junior would hide something like that from me."

Kyoko goes to stand and bow deeply in apology, but Ren stops her.

"But then I realized that you actually helped me more than anything."

_Huh? _She looks at him, hopeful. "I did?"

He smiles warmly at her. "Yes. So all I really want to say about it is thank you."

She lets out the breath she had been holding in. "I'm so glad…"

_She really was scared… _"Now. The issue with your mother."

Kyoko clenches her fists at the memories of her run-ins with Saena. "I'm sorry for what happened today. I spoke without thinking."

"It's okay." Once again he recalls that he is not supposed to know the details about her relationship with her mother as she had never explained it to "Ren". "I am curious though. Do you know what she wants?"

"She did say something about going back to Kyoto… I don't know what she'll do to make me go." Kyoko pauses as she remembers that she hasn't told him anything that happened in the past. "Truthfully… When I was growing up I didn't have a good relationship with my mother. I don't remember my father because he died when I was very young and in the end, my mother had no reason to stay with me. She ended up leaving and I hadn't seen her again until that day outside Darumaya…"

Ren's heart breaks for her. _She went through so much… _"I'm so sorry." _Wait. If she left her then who did she stay with? _"Who did you live with after she left?"

Kyoko sighs knowing that she can't hide the truth from him forever. "I stayed with Sho's parents. They liked me and knew I loved him so they started training me to take over the inn with him one day. That's why he left home and subsequently why I am here."

_Wha- She did what!?_ "As a bride!?" He was stunned, but it made many things make sense now. _That's why she was such a good "young lady" and speaks so politely. _

Kyoko nods. "I was taught everything I would need to know in order to run the inn with him up until we left." She shakes her head at her stupidity. "Anyway, my mother is here now and seems to be embarrassed of my being an actress. It can make her look bad. She had always tried to keep up certain appearances. That's why I used to try to get good grades in school. I wanted to please her." A smile breaks through her darkened face. "That is something I tried to keep up until that time as your manager… For that, I thank you."

Ren had been trying to let go of his jealousy over knowing she was being trained to be a bride for another man and failing, but at her thanks, he smiled a genuine smile that left Kyoko blinded. "I see. Well you have to let me know if anything happens." He looks right at her. "I will do what I can to help." _That's why I asked for you to have a manager. _

"No!" She responds fervently. "I mean," she calms herself, "I can't bother you with these things."

"Mogami-san, we are working together right now. For both of us to complete our job without any problems, I need to know what I can do to help," he easily bluffs the reason for wanting to be involved with her problems. However, it works and she relents.

"I understand…"

"Good."

In that moment, Kyoko's phone rings. She gets up to turn it off as Ren watches. "Your phone has been ringing a lot lately. Is someone trying to get ahold of you?"

Kyoko tries her best to nonchalantly place her phone back in her bag and respond, but Ren is no fool. "It's no one of importance. I can call them back later."

He lets her answer go, not wanting to spoil their good mood although he can guess who is on the other end of the phone. _What could he possibly want? After grabbing her so hard it left bruises, he needs to just back away and leave her alone too._

* * *

The week is coming to a close without any more catastrophes. It is almost too calm to Ren and Kyoko. They wonder why her mother hasn't tried to contact them again that week, but they decide that it's for the best. Setsu acts with Cain without any problems, and she was relieved but confused that Ren never brought up her being Bo again. She lets it go- if he isn't angry then she doesn't want to tempt his anger. She, however, is slowly becoming irritated by all of the calls from Sho. Cain notices her mood but when he asks her about it, she shrugs it off.

Now they were walking hand in hand to the set for their last day of filming for the week. Cain walks inside the studio ahead of Setsu, as she spots a vending machine and wants to go get them both a drink because she forgot their tea at the hotel, much to her internal dismay. As she is walking there, she is lost in thought over how much Cain has changed in the recent weeks. _Maybe Tsuruga-san has overcome that darkness… _She smiles and suddenly runs right into someone standing before her.

"I'm so sorry!" She says, accidently snapping out of Setsu mode as she picks herself up off of the ground. When she looks up, she is surprised to see Sho standing before her and puts her Setsu walls back up.

He is standing, glaring at her curiously. "You… Are you-"

Setsu cuts him off, not wanting him to recognize her. "Sho Fuwa? What is someone like you doing here?" She is able to maintain Setsu's indifference.

Sho is not shaken by this and jumps right into his accusations. "I called my manager and she wasn't able to get any information on my friend, Kyoko, for this past week. In fact, no one would give us information on her or Ren Tsuruga for the week, someone she works with. Odd, right? That both of them would be missing." He takes a step towards her, getting a better look than the one he got in his car before. "But there was word that some big movie was being filmed here today, and one of the main actors was some terrifying dude." He notices Setsu's eyes flare at that. "Thing is, I saw a scary guy walking down the street recently with a girl a lot like you. They were talking to an acquaintance of mine. Someone Kyoko would know. What I didn't understand is why they would be talking to her. Then I realized they looked oddly familiar."

Realizing where he was going with this, Setsu tries to cut in. "I don't know what you're ta-"

"Then it gets better!" He cuts her off again, angrily. He takes another step towards her and she takes one back. "You see, as I look at you I see that you were the girl with that scary guy on the street. So why would you be talking to Kyoko's mom? I can only come to one conclusion…" He pauses, letting it sink in for her fully that he knows. "Kyoko."

Setsu doesn't confirm or deny him, but turns to walk away. Sho quickly grabs her shoulder and slams her against the vending machine.

_Again!_ Setsu shakes in anger as this scene has become too similar to the last time she met him. "Don't touch me!"

"What the hell are you doing!?" Sho shouts as no one is around them. "Walking hand in hand down the street like lovers! And what's with this getup?" He looks her up and down, disgusted.

"I said…" She shoves him off of her. After everything with her mother and now him, she has had enough. "Don't touch me!"

Sho has seen her angry before, so it was not so shocking to him. Instead, he stalks toward her so that she is forced back against the machine without him even touching her. "Your mom is here."

"You think I don't know that!? Don't tell me you came all the way here just for that."

This did stun him. "How? And why is she here?"

Setsu tries to turn to walk around him, but he puts his hand on the machine to block her escape. "Tell me, Kyoko."

She quickly looks around. "Don't say that name." She didn't want anyone connecting Setsu to Kyoko because she didn't want anyone connecting Ren and Cain.

Sho narrows his eyes at her, but doesn't ask why. "Tell me."

"I don't know! She must have moved here. I hadn't had contact with her until I tried to get consent for a passport, so how she's here is a mystery to me that I don't care to find out."

_Passport? Where the hell is she going?_ "Did she-"

"Yes. I met with her. No. I didn't go well. Now let me go!" Setsu is fed up with everything.

"What did she want?"

"That's none of your busi-" Setsu was about to respond.

Suddenly, Sho is ripped away from Setsu. Cain is there and Sho is stunned by how evil he looks. With him being changed into his black costume and colored contacts, he is even more dark and terrifying than how he looked walking down the street. "Ren Tsuru-", he nearly asks too loudly, but Cain's glare is enough to silence him. Cain wordlessly grabs Setsu's hand and pulls her away. "Hey! I wasn't done!" Sho shouts.

Cain lets go of Setsu's hand to whip around and stalk toward Sho, forcing him back until his own back is against the vending machine. Cain slams his fist beside Sho's head on the machine and stands so close that he is looking down on him with his towering height. Setsu watches on his fear, knowing that nothing good comes from Cain's anger.

"B-Back up!" Sho stutters with feigned strength.

Cain answers with another glare and menacingly whispers, "Shut the f**k up."

Though Sho had been exposed to Ren's angry expression before, he could never imagine him like this. He would never admit it, but right then fear crawled up his spine. _This guy… he looks like a cold-blooded murderer…_ He recalls Kyoko talking about taking advantage of Ren's kindness. _There's nothing kind about him!_

Cain sees the fear hidden in Sho's eyes and is almost satisfied, but he adds in another whisper so that Setsu cannot hear, "touch her again and I will rip your arms off."

Although he fears Cain, Sho refuses to show it. "I'm sure the media would love to hear you say things like that. If you want to talk about things being ripped apart." He tries to look at Setsu but Cain shifts his body so that he can't see anything but him. "That goes for both of you. She wants to become an actress big enough to make me bow down in defeat? She'll never get there with someone like you!"

Hearing this just made Cain angrier as it was a subject he never wanted to think about but couldn't refute. He brought his arm back, ready to strike Sho.

Setsu gasped as she noticed his movement. "Brother! No!"

Instead of hitting Sho, Cain's fist lands on the machine. He hangs his head and shakes it, dispelling his anger. He knows Sho isn't worth the backlash he could potentially receive. Plus he promised to not disappoint Setsu again. _Once again her voice saved me from making a mistake. I may accept Kuon now, but I still don't want to hurt anyone. _He turns away from Sho and once again begins to pull Setsu's hand toward the studio.

_What did she mean by brother? _Sho thinks through his fury. He watches them walk away, staring angrily at their entwined hands. _What's with those two…?_ He is still shaking in anger, but he dares not to follow them.

Once they are inside, Cain leads them both to their dressing room and doesn't let her hand go until the door to the room is safely shut. Cain turns to Setsu then. "Are you okay?"

She hesitates and Cain's face darkens but she eventually responds. "Yeah."

He places his hand on her cheek. "Liar." Though she fights it, a tear makes her way down her cheek until it is interrupted by his hand. Cain hugs her. "I'm sorry I was late."

Setsu takes deep breaths, refusing to cry again. She was done with crying so much lately. "It's just everything that's happened lately… It's not easy."

Cain releases her from his embrace, but keeps his hands on her arms. "I'm sorry. You were late so I went to check on you. When I saw you with him…" He drops his head and trembles with fury. He looks back up at her. "I was late, but I will always find you." Setsu can see the warmth in his eyes shining through the darkness of his anger and it fills her with a sense of comfort. "I will always come for you." He fights to control himself from saying more. From saying everything he's held back for so long. _I will always love you. _"Always."

Another tear escapes Setsu's eyes but this time it is from happiness instead of sadness. She smiles sweetly at him, nearly destroying his control. She hugs him, something he isn't used to. "I love you."

Cain's eyes widen and Setsu can feel his heart speed up considerably. She replays what she just said and did in her mind and blushes furiously in Cain's chest. She waits until she gets her expression under control before she releases him and smiles up at him. "You are the best brother a girl could ask for."

_Ah… That's what she meant. _Cain is disappointed in himself for getting ahead of himself. _She's still Setsu after all._ "Yeah. I love you too."

A shiver of thrill threatens her persona so she makes sure to step away from Cain so that his hands fall from her arms. She doesn't want him to notice her excitement at his words. "Thank you for saving me."

Cain lets his disappointment go as he could never keep it up with her around, she always brightened his mood. "Any time."


	10. Partners

**So... Sleepy! Okay so I've started summer classes and have been very busy. I will go back to trying to update just once a week. I didn't want a lot to happen in this chapter. Trying to set the stage ;) I hope you enjoy! Please review it. I'd like to know if you like where it's headed. I've already received some really good ideas! Thank you!**

* * *

_Cain's eyes widen and Setsu can feel his heart speed up considerably. She replays what she just said and did in her mind and blushes furiously in Cain's chest. She waits until she gets her expression under control before she releases him and smiles up at him. "You are the best brother a girl could ask for."_

_Ah… That's what she meant. __Cain is disappointed in himself for getting ahead of himself.__She's still Setsu after all__.__"Yeah. I love you too."_

_A shiver of thrill threatens her persona so she makes sure to step away from Cain so that his hands fall from her arms. She doesn't want him to notice her excitement at his words. "Thank you for saving me."_

_Cain lets his disappointment go as he could never keep it up with her around, she always brightened his mood. "Any time."_

* * *

_Setsu gasped as she noticed his movement. "Brother! No!"_

_Instead of hitting Sho, Cain's fist lands on the machine. _That was close!_ Cain hangs his head and shakes it.__He turns away from Sho and once again begins to pull Setsu's hand toward the studio. Sho notices their hands and fury rises up in him. _That bastard!_ He looks up at Kyoko. __What did she mean by brother?__ He watches them walk away. __What's with those two…?__He is still shaking in anger, but he dares not to follow them. _He's crazy.

"Sho, your phone has been ringing for a while now." Sho opens his eyes to his manager's voice and the persistent ringing of his phone. He lazily looks over at his phone, still drowsy from his mid-afternoon nap. Shoko sighs and picks it up to look at the caller ID. "It's unknown, but if they're going to keep calling then you might as well answer it."

"Or I could just turn it off. If they're not identified then they're not important." Sho responds and turns over, away from Shoko. _That dream again… _

"Yes, hello. This is Shoko Aki, Sho Fuwa's manager. How may I help you?"

Sho suddenly sits up when she answers his phone for him. She ignores his evil eye and listens to the person on the other end of the phone. "Yes. I understand. I'll put him on now." She places her hand over the mike and looks at Sho. "They haven't given their name, but they says it's important," she hesitates with the oddity of the message. "…and that you would interested in what she has to say."

_She? _Sho is immediately suspicious. Ever since he saw Kyoko's mother, he has been on edge even though he would never admit the reason why to anyone. He extends his hand toward Shoko and she places the cellphone in it. "Yes?"

"_Sho Fuwa?_" An older woman's voice is on the other end.

"What?"

He hears a light chuckle before she speaks again. "_Well I can hear that you haven't changed that attitude since the last time I saw you. You were always very cross with your parents." _Sho narrows his eyes. _It _is _her. _"_This is Saena. Saena Mogami."_

"How did you get this number?" Sho asks in a low voice.

She laughs at the question. "_I couldn't believe it at first, but you are quite famous. I just called a few contacts and eventually found it out._" She lowers her voice to match his. "_If I was going to keep tabs on Kyoko after I found out that she entered show business, then I figured it wouldn't hurt to find out what I could about you, her '_Prince_'. Plus it's a lot easier to find out information about you. It seems she's fairly new to the world if you compare her to you._"

_So she's been snooping around me too. _"What do you want?"

Saena sighs. "_So to the point. What's wrong? You don't feel like catching up?"_

Sho repeats his question with an added hint of hostility.

"_I'd like your help actually._"

_Eh? My help? _"What?"

"_It's really interesting actually. I thought you were her prince charming but when I met her the other day it seems like she's replaced you with a knight in shining armor as she would probably put it._" She pauses so long that Sho is forced to respond.

"Who she's with has nothing to do with me. If that's all you want then I'm going."

It wasn't much but Saena could hear the anger in his voice and she was more than satisfied. She knew he wasn't happy that Kyoko had another man. "_Oh dear, that's hardly all I wanted. Like I said, I want your help._" Sho waits for her to continue. "_I want to make her move back to Kyoto._"

Sho is surprised by what she has said. He expected something crueler. This proposition however was one that he actually didn't mind. "That's all?"

Saena laughs again. "_What? Did you expect something else? I just don't like my daughter being in a spot light. It's embarrassing. Thankfully she hasn't made her full name public yet, but it's only a matter of time that people become interested and I would rather not have others knowing my daughter is someone so shameful._" She sneers her words and although Sho can't stand it, her plans for Kyoto doesn't sound half bad to him._ "It's humiliating and I have worked too hard to get where I am to have her screw it up."_

Still, he hated her saying that Kyoko was an embarrassment. "Haven't you said enough already? I didn't need a speech." Saena grumbles at his disrespect, but has no time to retort. "Fine. I'll help. As long as she is separated from Ren Tsuruga, I'm in."

Saena smiles at her easy victory. "Good. Now then…"

Saena and Sho continue their conversation until he is forced to get back to work. With a plan in place to force Kyoko back to Kyoto, Sho is in a noticeably better mood than before. Shoko, who had left the room earlier to give him privacy, can tell but she knows that when his moods change so drastically then it must have something to do with Kyoko, and she would rather stay out of it.

* * *

"Cut! Good job Murasame-san, Cain-san." The director of Tragic Marker calls. Cain doesn't miss a beat and before anyone even realizes he's gone, he's beside Setsu. Everyone on set thinks of one thing. _Those guys are too weird! _Unfazed by their stares, Cain and Setsu proceed toward their room.

"Stop, you perverted siblings!" Murasame yells. Both Cain and Setsu ignore him and continue walking. "You should at least pay your respects to the director and fellow actors! Like a "good job"!"

Cain finally stops and looks at him but like usual, Setsu is the one to respond. "I didn't think Japanese people were so needy and needed praise. Needing someone else to tell you when you've done a good enough job shows you feel inadequate." She looks him up and down before shrugging and walking away with Cain right beside her. Murasame begins a rant that can be heard even as they leave the set.

"You know me well." Cain says as they continue down a hallway that leads to their dressing room.

_That's because I can imagine you saying something like that to me, _Setsu thinks bitterly to herself and recalls all her experiences with a disappointed Ren. "Of course. You're my one and only brother." For the first time she is the one to take his hand, intertwining their fingers.

Cain is startled but doesn't show it. Instead, he smiles slightly and grips her hand tightly. "You're right. I won't let anyone else have you." He looks at her sternly. "That Murasame had better keep his paws off of you or I'll break them. You're mine."

Setsu smiles mischievously. "Aw. But I kind of like him."

Cain is opening the door to their room when she says this. He looks down at her and she can see the fire in his eyes in response to her words. He abruptly pulls her inside, closing the door behind them.

"Brother?" Setsu gets her bearing after being man-handled and realizes that Cain has her against the door to their room. She immediately pulls back from his closeness.

He is leaning down so that his face is inches from hers. "Don't tease me about that. I mean it when I say it. You're mine."

He is so close that his breath caresses her cheeks. Setsu flushes, crosses her arms in defiance and turns her face away from his. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Cain doesn't respond. He glances at her exposed neck and recalls her marking him. He inches closer to her until his lips are hovering over her neck, just below her ear. Setsu freezes. "If you won't make it known to him that you're mine, then I'll have to do it," he whispers as he places his lips on her delicate skin.

Setsu's eyes widen and she puts her hands on his shoulders to push him away. His mouth is only removed for half a second before he is back on her, relentless. "Hn…!" She quits pushing and grips his shoulders tightly when he ever so gently nibbles her. He then lightly licks her to soothe her red, bruising skin- finishing his work.

He once again whispers, "Sweet…" He brings his face back so Setsu can turn to face him.

She immediately raises her hand to her inflamed neck and stares at Cain, wide-eyed. "You…! You stupid brother!" She bonks him on the head. _Calm down! Calm down! _"I was just teasing! You didn't have to do that! They all already know I'm yours!"

Cain smiles smugly. "I know." He completely releases her and goes to sit on the couch. "I just never got to thank you for marking me as yours before. I thought I was doing you a favor." He looks over at her, "My bad." He puts his arms behind his head and lounges on the couch- not sorry looking at all.

Setsu sighs, calming her nerves that have just been completely fried. _There's nothing I can do about it now. _She goes over to sit beside him and he puts an arm behind her. She leans against him and he wraps that arm around her, tightly. "Don't worry so much… I'm not going anywhere."


	11. Unexpected News

**Okay so a lot is going on in this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it and don't get too mad at the decisions I'm making regarding where the story is going. I appreciate everyone's comments. They keep me going! So please review and tell me what you think. Don't be afraid to offer up some ideas. I've already put some of your ideas into motion. Thank you everyone!**

* * *

_Cain smiles smugly. "I know." He completely releases her and goes to sit on the couch. "I just never got to thank you for marking me as yours before. I thought I was doing you a favor." He looks over at her, "My bad." He puts his arms behind his head and lounges on the couch- not sorry looking at all._

_Setsu sighs, calming her nerves that have just been completely fried.__There's nothing I can do about it now.__She goes over to sit beside him and he puts an arm behind her. She leans against him and he wraps that arm around her, tightly. "Don't worry so much… I'm not going anywhere."_

* * *

Ryouta hears his phone ringing and quickly answers it when he sees that it is Lory. With Kyoko acting as Setsu for the past week, he has had a lot of time to work on planning her schedule. He was just making use of some free time by watching an episode of Dark Moon so that he could study Kyoko. "Yes. Ryouta Sato speaking."

"_Good evening Sato-kun. I hope I'm not calling too late._" Lory speaks with a reserved tone in case Ryouta was sleeping.

"Of course not, sir. I was just doing some research."

"_Ah. Good. Well I have something to discuss with you. I did not plan on getting you involved so soon, but this is urgent._"

Ryouta perks up. _Is this about what Tsuruga-san was talking about? _"Excuse me sir, but if this has to do something with the person troubling Mogami-san right now, then I believe Ren Tsuruga has already told me some of this."

"_Ohh?_" _That boy… _Lory contains a chuckle at knowing Ren had no doubtedly already taken the initiative to size Ryouta up. But still, he didn't expect Ren to go ahead and tell Ryouta about Kyoko's mother. "_What exactly did he tell you?_"

Ryouta recalls his experience with Ren:

_"Someone from Mogami-san's past has shown up. Someone I would rather she not meet because of certain circumstances. Unfortunately, they did last night. I was there to stop it from escalating, but Mogami-san was shaken up by it. I would hate to imagine what would have happened if I had not been there to put an end to it..." Ren trails off and Ryouta raises an eye brow when Ren clenches his fists on the table. "But she'll be back."_

_"She?" Ryouta asks._

_Ren looks right at him with a glare. Ryouta fights an involuntary shiver at his expression.__If looks could kill… I'm definitely right about their relationship being deeper than they let on._

_"Yes… It is a female." Ren's knuckles turn white._

_"Well… I will do my best to watch out for Mogami-san._

As Ryouta relays all of this information with a slight shudder at remembering Ren's ferocious expression to Lory, Lory interjects "hm's" and "ah's" every now and again.

"_I see. Then he hasn't been specific. That's good. But now I believe you need to know. You see, the woman Ren is talking about is Mogami-kun's mother._"

_What? Her mother? That's the last person I would have guessed._ "Why her mother?"

"_The specifics of why their relationship is no good are unbeknownst to me. What I do know is that she has contacted us and Mogami-kun directly several times. Ren came to me after one of these encounters because it seems he was with her then. It was hard on Mogami-kun. This is why we decided it would be beneficial for her to have some protection- you."_

Ryouta listens carefully to Lory's every word but he is astonished that Kyoko's mother has been causing the worry he saw on Ren and Kyoko. "What does she want?" Lory hesitates and this causes Ryouta more concern than any words could have. He's never known Lory to be one to hesitate to say something. "President? What does she want?" He repeats his question with a fervor.

Lory sighs heavily, "_She wants Mogami-kun to quit show business. What's after that, I don't know. She would not tell me when she called a short while ago._"

All thoughts seem to cease in Ryouta's mind.

"_Sato-kun?_"

"Ah! I apologize. I was just…"

Lory smiles, knowing he picked a good manager for Kyoko. "_Yes. This situation is not looking good. You see, when I spoke with her earlier she had mentioned the guardian consent form for underage actors. Mogami-san never got her mother to sign it. They had not been in contact for years it seems and Mogami-kun did not wish to contact her mother for consent._"

"What does that mean? I mean Mogami-san has been with LME for a good amount of time now. The consent should not matter at this point."

Once again, Lory sighs with the weight of this situation. He is unable to do anything for the girl he hoped to polish into a never before seen diamond. "_It does matter. Unfortunately, there is no time limit set on guardian consent. If one suddenly decides that it is not okay for their ward to be in this business, then that's it. They're done._"

Ryouta clenches his fist, afraid to ask what he must. "And has her mother done that?"

"_I was given an ultimatum. Either I fire her and send her packing without her knowing her mother's involvement, an act that would leave her devastated nonetheless, or I am faced with a legal battle for hiring someone underage with no consent. In the second option, Mogami-kun would still be forced to leave this business._"

Though Ryouta had only known Kyoko a short while, he was fond of her. So both of the choices given to Lory made his blood boil in anger. "Have you spoken to Tsuruga-san about this?"

"_No. He is still acting with her as Cain and Setsu. I do now want to tell him until the two of them are a safe distance from each other. Ren is a good actor but he isn't perfect. I can't risk Mogami-kun finding out. I called you first because, as her manager, you must know what is about to happen for Mogami-kun._"

Ryouta catches what Lory is trying to say to him. "'About to happen'?"

Lory pauses. He slowly and sadly responds, "_Yes. I will fire Mogami-kun._"

* * *

The week comes to an end and Cain and Setsu are transformed into their normal counterparts. When Ren and Kyoko go their separate ways, both of them being retrieved by their respective managers, they all notice a darkness hanging on Ryouta. Ren in particular is quite alarmed by Ryouta's expression as he is worried it has to do with Saena. However, he does not ask. He decides to wait until he is able to speak to him privately. Kyoko decides to just ignore it, not wanting to spoil her good mood at a job well done.

The next day Ren still has not had a moment to call Ryouta. He was about to now when his phone rang in his hand- Lory Takarada was on the caller ID. By the time the conversation was over, Ren was shaking and threw his phone against the wall of his apartment- effectively shattering it. _NO!_ He could not control his anger and punched the wall. As he stood there with his fist still on the wall and his body trembling, he glanced at his broken phone. He spun around to grab his wallet and keys. He had to get to Kyoko before Lory called to tell her the news. He didn't want her to hear it alone. He wanted to be there to comfort her and tell her that it would be alright. That they would figure out something together. What he didn't know was that Lory had already called her.

* * *

_Ah… He's not answering… He must be busy…_ Kyoko closed her phone, giving up on calling Ren. Tears were streaming down her face, although they were masked by the rain falling outside of the train station. She did not have enough motivation to go into the station yet. She did not have the motivation for much at the moment, and she drops her phone on the ground. She looks down at it as she sees that it opened upon being dropped and the time was staring up at her. _It's time to go…_ Without picking it up, she walks into the station with nothing but a small bag of essentials.

* * *

Ren arrives at Darumaya and barely cuts the engine to his car before leaping out and running to the door. Upon entering, everyone inside looks up at him because of his abrupt entrance. Everyone immediately recognizes his for the famous actor his is but no one dares to approach him. His expression is one of a man that is not to be messed with right now. Okami and Taisho look at him too, but Taisho continues cooking without a word. It is Okami who approaches him with sadness etched in her face.

"She's not here, Tsuruga-san."

He smoothes his face so that no one will think badly of him. "I apologize for coming in like this. Do you know where she is? I lost my phone and cannot contact her. I'm afraid it's urgent."

Okami looks down and shakes her head. "I'm sorry. She packed her things and left."

Ren's world threatens to collapse. _She knows. The President already called her._ He clenches his fists. _He didn't tell me and now she's gone! _"Where did she go…?"

She looks around at the customers that are watching their interaction. "Follow me." She leads them into their private living area and they both sit at the table. Ren waits with as much patience as he can muster right now. "She came home a while ago with no expression on her face. Before we let her go, we made her tell us what was going on. It seems she was let go from LME."

Ren hangs his head. _I knew it… _"Then what happened?"

Okami sighs. "She claimed there was no point in staying here anymore. She said that she had wanted to make it to the top of the show business world and if that was no longer possible, then she had no reason to stay."

The words cut through Ren's façade. He slumps further over and lays his forehead on the table in front of him. _Dam*it!_ His whole body was shaking and Okami just observed all of this.

_Does he… To Kyoko-chan?_ She smiles sadly. _If only he had been here. Maybe he would have made her stay. _She places a hand on his shoulder and he looks up at her.

_I have to get myself together,_ Ren thinks as he struggles to maintain his persona.

"Tsuruga-san, may I ask something of you?"

"What?"

"Can I leave her retrieval up to you?"

_Eh? _Ren just looks at her.

"I don't think she will listen to anyone else." She smiles at him and it is then that he sees a maternal love for Kyoko in her.

A smile finally breaks through as his heart is warmed by this fact. "Yes. I will find her." _There's only one place she would go… _"May I borrow your phone?" _I need to call the President. _

* * *

Lory calls Saena and she answers it expectantly. "Saena Mogami speaking."

"It's done. According to someone near her, she's left. Where she has gone, I do not know."

Saena smiles. _It worked. _"Thank you. That will be all," and she hangs up on him.


	12. Giving Up?

**What a week. I envy those who are out of school for the summer. Unfortunately I am taking two summer classes. I'm pooped, you guys. But I really wanted to write a chapter of this. It's my escape~ I hope you guys enjoy. Everyone's reviews have been cracking me up. So many want Saena to die! When I first started this story, I had a plan set for where this story would go. However, I have deviated from it a LOT! But I now have a new plan set and I will give no spoilers. Sorry ;) Please hang in there. This story wont last much longer. Please feel free to review. Each one makes my day. And I KNOW you guys wont like this chapter. It seems so depressing that even I get sad reading it. But like I said, hang in there... ;)**

* * *

_Lory calls Saena and she answers it expectantly. "Saena Mogami speaking."_

_"It's done. According to someone near her, she's left. Where she has gone, I do not know."_

_Saena smiles.__It worked.__"Thank you. That will be all," and she hangs up on him._

* * *

"Sir, Tsuruga-sama is here." Lory's assistant barely gets the words out of his mouth before Ren abruptly enters the room. Lory is casually smoking a cigar, looking out his windows at the bustling world below- a world that was certainly not crashing down like it felt to the man who had just entered his office.

"President, thank you for seeing me on such short notice," Ren begins, out of breath from his fast walk to his office. "I couldn't let that phone call go. I can't let-" he stops himself. _I can't let her go. Not like that. Not alone. _

Lory smiles and snuffs out his cigar, taking his time before addressing Ren. Finally he speaks. "It took you long enough." Ren glares at him and he returns his glare with a chuckle. "Calm down. Did you really think I would be okay with letting a jewel escape my grasp?"

This floors Ren. When Lory contacted him about letting Kyoko go, Ren had not detected anything in his voice that suggested anything otherwise."Sir?"

Lory looks at him meaningfully but continues without missing a beat. "Ignore the ramblings of an old man. We're not known to know what we're talking about. In fact, we are quite forgetful." He was already regretting calling himself an old man, but for this purpose he was willing. He is fond of the girl who is now missing because of his words.

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

"I'm saying you are not to pursue Mogami-kun!" Once again, Lory looks at Ren with a face full of purpose as he speaks loudly. "You are to do your job and forget about her."

Ren recalls what he had just said. _"Ignore the ramblings of an old man. We're not known to know what we're talking about"_. Catching on, Ren nods infinitesimally. Lory sees the glint in his eye and smiles knowingly. Ren bows, "Understood, sir. Then I'll be going."

"Wait. Your replacement phone." Lory tosses him a small package. Without another word from either one of them, Ren leaves. As soon as he is out of the door, he rips open the package. He turns the already charged phone on and calls Yashiro in order to fill him in and ask about his work schedule. He would leave as soon as he could. Yashiro regretfully reports that he will not have a moment of free time for another three days. After working as Cain for so long, his other work has piled up. Ren sighs heavily but thanks Yashiro. _Just three days… and then I'll tell her everything._

* * *

Kyoko steps off the train and takes in the Kyoto sunshine, leaving the rain in Tokyo far behind. _I'm home. _She takes in a deep, cleansing breath as she tries to clear the clouds in her mind. She had to figure out where to go from here but there was really only one option. She just hopes they would not turn her away.

She slowly approaches Fuwa Ryokan, hesitant. She imagines that they will not recognize her because of her changed appearance. As she stands in front of the door, it suddenly opens. An older woman, although initially startled, immediately bows.

"Good evening madam. Welcome to our Inn. Please," the older woman straightens up to a perfect posture that exudes elegance, "Com-". When their eyes meet, the woman's demeanor slips. "Kyoko-chan?"

"Eh? Ah!" Kyoko bows politely. "I'm sorry for coming so late. I-"

"Kyoko-chan… It's lovely to see you again." The woman smiles lovingly at her.

"You… recognize me?"

Lightly, the woman chuckles as she observes Kyoko with a silent affection. "My son may not have realized what a gem you are, but I could spot you from a mile away. It's been so long…" She places a hand on Kyoko's cheek. "I raised you as if you were already my own. I don't see Shotaro, so I'll take a guess and say he was unable to hold onto your affections- that fool. But you will always be like a daughter to me."

Overwhelmed and suddenly not feeling so alone, a tear escapes from Kyoko's eye and runs down to the woman's hand. "Thank you."

Sho's mother wipes the tear away. "Besides, I was expecting you." Seeing Kyoko's confused expression, she invites her in and has someone bring them some soothing tea. They both sit formally, comfortable with how it feels by now. "I won't ask what is wrong right now. I will wait until you are ready to share it. I am always here if you need someone to talk to." Kyoko nods and gets ready to speak when Fuwa-san speaks again. "Your mother contacted me and told me I could be expecting you."

Kyoko's eyes widen greatly. "My mother?" she whispers, petrified.

Sho's mom mistakes her fear for wonder. "Yes. I was surprised too when she told me who she was. Now _that _is someone I haven't seen for quite some time." She stops herself. "Oh I am sorry, Kyoko-chan. That was rude of me." Kyoko just shakes her head and Fuwa-san continues. "Of course, I was elated when she told me the news."

"The news?"

Now Sho's mother was the confused one. "Yes. About you coming back to study under me again in order to finally inherit the inn like you used to plan to." She pauses. "Well, I say inherit but you would really be working with the man we will welcome into the family to run it. Originally it would have been Shotaro, but I doubt he will change his mind anytime soon. We will be setting up a few omiais for you. Why? Was this meant to be a secret or something?"

Kyoko's world was once again spinning on its head. _How did mother know I'd be here? Inherit the ryokan? Omiai? So I'm to marry?_ So many questions swirled in her mind that nothing is making sense anymore.

"Kyoko-chan? What's wrong? You've become pale."

"N-no… It's nothing. I'm just… tired." She could barely form a complete sentence.

"Oh of course! You've had a long trip and it's late. I'm sorry to have kept you. I will have a room prepared for you…" A young woman in a yukata at the edge of the room bows at the subtle order and exits the room. Fuwa-san looks at Kyoko suspiciously, but decides not to ask yet. She wants Kyoko to calm down before discussing things further. Moments later, the young woman slides the door open so that she can be seen and announces that Kyoko's room has been prepared. "Please follow her, Kyoko-chan. We can speak tomorrow."

Kyoko numbly stands and follows behind the young woman. She observes her back and reminisces on the time when she was working here. _It feels like a lifetime ago… _The girl kneels down in front of a door, slides it open for Kyoko and moves aside without a word. Kyoko turns to her and bows. "Thank you very much." The girl bows deeper and doesn't move again until Kyoko steps inside the room.

"Have a good rest, madam." She quietly closes the door behind Kyoko and leaves.

Kyoko sees a yukata laid out for her and she changes mechanically. Her mind stopped working as soon as she heard her mother had called. She lays down in her futon but does not go to sleep, unable to stop going over the bombs that have just been dropped on her. She did not understand how her mother knows she is in Kyoto. She didn't know why she wants her to inherit the ryokan. Her heart squeezes when she thinks about an arranged marriage. Her mind wanders to Ren. _I wonder if he knows… He's probably still too busy… _While she wants to immediately refuse the offer to inherit the inn and meet potential husbands, she does not want to hurt the woman who graciously opened her home up to Kyoko. _I'm stuck!_ She closes her eyes and presses her palms to them in frustration. _Help me… Tsuruga-san!_

* * *

Kyoko rises early the next morning, unable to try to sleep any longer. She wants to talk to Sho's mom and get answers. Kyoko has already made her decision but she wants to understand the full situation before making it known. She leaves her room and sets out to find Fuwa-san. A worker informs her that it is not a good time to meet as Fuwa-san has a lot of work to complete. Kyoko decides to just take a walk to clear her head. She can think of no better place to go than where she met Corn for the first time. She arrives and the sun shines down brightly on her, warming her to the core. _It'll be okay… _She thinks about Corn. _I broke his curse… Maybe I received it in exchange... But that's okay. As long as he is happy. _ She lays down on the warm grass and, enveloped by warmth, drifts to sleep. Despite her circumstances, she dreams about her good times at the inn as a child.

That night, Kyoko is finally able to meet up with Sho's mother after she has eaten dinner. They both meet at the same room as the night before and are once again served tea.

"So," Fuwa-san takes a sip of her tea, "to continue our conversation from last night." Kyoko straightens up from her already straight posture. This causes Fuwa-san to smile. "To think you can actually sit straighter." She chuckles. "You always were a good student. Even now your posture is impeccable."

Kyoko smiles although it is strained. "Thank you, Fuwa-san."

Fuwa-san notices her forced smile and it reminds of her original purpose in meeting with Kyoko. "Kyoko-chan, am I missing something? Your mother seemed pleased that you were coming back but I did not expect you to be so… depressed. I feel as if I am out of the loop and, if you would permit it, I would like to know what is going on."

Kyoko takes time to process her words and takes a deep breath, steeling herself from her own words that were about to come. She bows, "I apologize. I truly was just tired. I have just returned to Kyoto… for good. Things did not go very well for me in Tokyo. Shotaro is doing well in his career and no longer required my assistance." She didn't want this kind woman to know the truth behind her son's betrayal. "After that, I tried to do my own think and was recently let go. There was really nothing left for me in Tokyo…" she hesitates so slightly that Fuwa-san almost misses it. Kyoko thinks to herself: _I may love Tsuruga-san but someone like him would never return those feelings for me… But I could never watch him be with someone else. Before I become even crueler, it's best if I leave his life before it truly is much too late…_ She knows she is lying to herself. It was already too late.

Fuwa-san has no reason to doubt Kyoko, so she places her tea cup down and looks at Kyoko sadly. _Everyone leaves behind _something. _That hesitation… She also seemed distraught when I talked about an omiai. She must have loved someone dearly. _"I am so sorry, Kyoko-chan. It must have been tough. I must thank your mother then for contacting me. I am glad I can be of some help, even if it is just a little bit."

Kyoko shakes her head. _So she really knows nothing about my mother's contact with me. But why did mother contact her about this? _She shakes off her questions so she can focus on their conversation. "You are very helpful to me. I apologize again for my boldness, but I would like to stay here… For good."

Fuwa-san brightens immediately. "Truly?"

Kyoko nods. "Yes. And of course, I want to be of help. No matter what it is… Including helping run it with the future owner if that is what you desire…" _I owe you so much… I at least want to be helpful to you. _

_Ah… The arranged marriage. _"I understand. Thank you, Kyoko-chan." Fuwa-san stands. "Then I will begin the search for an appropriate partner…" _unless you say otherwise…_ She is almost hopeful that Kyoko changes her mind. She loves Kyoko and hates to see her heartbroken.

However, Kyoko simply smiles with as much acting ability as she can muster. "I appreciate that. Thank you very much, Fuwa-san." Sho's mother is not fooled, but she relents and excuses herself.

Alone, Kyoko slumps over. _It's done. _She smiles bitterly. _At least I am able to be helpful to her._

* * *

-Two days later-

Ren steps off of the train and is momentarily blinded by the sun that is typically hidden from him by the towering skyscrapers of Tokyo. Kyoto is one of Ren's favorite places for many reasons. One reason in particular was now hiding from him somewhere. Though he had met with Kyoko many times by the stream when they were children, the likelihood of her being there now was slim. She just recently informed him about staying with Sho Fuwa's parents at a ryokan, so he decides to start there. He clenches his fists, preparing to bare everything he has kept hidden for so long. _Kyoko…_


	13. Loving Words

**So I was actually thinking about what all I have left to do in this story to tie up all loose ends and realized I can get a few more chapters in. In other words, its not over yet! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It was hard trying to figure out how to portray everything. I hope it came across well. Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think! And if you find any grammar mistakes then don't be afraid to let me know. Sometimes when I upload to here, my document gets changed for some annoying reason, so I would actually appreciate your help.**

* * *

_Ren steps off of the train and is momentarily blinded by the sun that is typically hidden from him by the towering skyscrapers of Tokyo. Kyoto is one of Ren's favorite places for many reasons. One reason in particular was now hiding from him somewhere. Though he had met with Kyoko many times by the stream when they were children, the likelihood of her being there now was slim. She just recently informed him about staying with Sho Fuwa's parents at a ryokan when she was a child, so he decides to start there. He clenches his fists, preparing to bare everything he has kept hidden for so long. __Kyoko…_

* * *

Ren enters the first shop he finds and approaches a young woman working at the cashier. She is reading a magazine with the headline "Exclusive Interview with Ren Tsuruga!" and doesn't notice the man in question standing before her. As the wind chime by the door tinkles with the wind as the door to the shop closes behind him, she looks up and her eyes almost bulge right out of her head. Before she has a chance to voice a rant of excitement like Ren is used to, he speaks up.

"I need some information."

She tries her best to calm her nerves, but she fails in the presence of Japan's most eligible bachelor. Instead, she looks at him with her best seductive face. "Anything you want…"

Ren smiles gentlemanly, ignoring her obvious affections. "Are there any inns around here?"

"Yes… Quite a few. And they're all very nice."_ I'll go with you to any of them…_

"I see. Do you know anyone with the name Fuwa?" Again he ignores the suggestiveness of the way she phrased that.

This distracts her as she runs through a list of names in her head. "No, I don't thi- Oh! Yeah! There's Fuwa Ryokan a little ways from here. Out of here and to the left." She remembers who she is talking to and smiles up at him. "I can take my break and show you where if you'd like."

_Are women always like this? _Ren didn't appreciate her offer. _No… they aren't, _he thinks as he dwells on his memories of the one he came to Kyoto for. "Thank you for your help." He turns on his heel and quickly leaves the shop. Because he is traveling by foot, it takes him a while but he arrives at the inn and enters the front door- full of purpose.

There is someone already there to greet new guests. She bows to him, her perfected discipline restraining any feelings of excitement she may feel. "Good afternoon, sir. How may I be of service to you?"

Ren glances around for any sign of Kyoko, but doesn't see her. "I am looking for someone. Do you know a Kyoko Mogami?"

The woman raises up and stands perfectly straight, reminding Ren of the time Kyoko played a young woman of a rich household. This made him yearn to see her, worried about how she was doing. "Yes, sir. She is currently with the mistress."

Ren's heart warms knowing she is so close. _Found her._ "I need to speak with her."

The woman bows again. "I apologize. I have been instructed to not disturb them. Mogami-sama is in an important meeting with Fuwa-sama."

Just then an older woman enters the front room and is startled to see Ren there, although she doesn't recognize him. Being held up with running an inn after her husband's death, Fuwa-san has not had much time for entertainment. "Oh dear. You're here already." She bows. "I apologize. I must have lost track of time." She straightens up and looks around Ren. "I am surprised you do not have anyone with you. Normally there is a chaperone from both sides for the first omiai meeting."

"Omiai?" Ren doesn't understand, but a sinking feeling comes over him. "For who?"

Sho's mother was confused. "Are you not the one for the meeting with Kyoko-chan?"

His fears are confirmed._ Omiai… Kyoko is entering an arranged marriage. _"I'm sorry, you must have me mistaken for someone else." Ren responded emotionlessly. He bows and greets her. "I am Ren Tsuruga. I am here looking for Mogami-san, but it isn't an arranged meeting."

She pauses as she assesses Ren. "May I ask how you know her?"

"I am an acquaintance from Tokyo. She left so suddenly. I wanted to see how she was doing." He responded with a practiced indifference that separated his feelings from his expression.

Fuwa-san raises an eyebrow. _You came all the way from Tokyo, following her… and you're an acquaintance? _"I see. Well now is not the best time. We are expecting her partner to be here any moment. After that she will be immersed in training for the rest of the day." Fuwa-san smiles. "You are welcome to spend the evening here. She may be able to spare some time later tonight."

Ren weighs his options, but he is set on not returning to Tokyo without Kyoko. "Yes. I would appreciate that. Thank you."

Fuwa-san bows. "I understand." She turns to the young girl who first greeted Ren and she bows, understanding Fuwa-san's silent order. The girl disappears from the room, leaving Ren and Fuwa-san alone together. "Now." She looks directly at Ren. "Who are you really to our Kyoko-chan?"

Ren is startled by this. He thought he had successfully convinced her that he was just a friend to Kyoko, but her tone suggests otherwise. "I don't know what you mean."

"One does not come all the way from Tokyo chasing after someone so soon after they left simply because it was sudden. At least… not unless that person is quite important to you." Ren observes the glint in her eye as she says this and knows he's been read like an open book. She sees him struggle for words and smiles at him, knowing that she is right. "Thank you."

"Eh?" Ren is caught off guard by her thanks.

Fuwa-san sighs. "I have heard a little from Kyoko-chan about her situation. It seems things have been hard on her… I can tell you care for her and that is something she needs." Ren is about to speak, but Fuwa-san speaks first. "However, I cannot sway her choice. And her choice is to stay here and leave Tokyo behind. If she is resolved, then anyone trying to force her back will only bring her pain."

Ren clenches his fists, also fully resolved. "I will bring her back." Fuwa-san stays silent. Knowing he is alone with her, he lets his mask fall away. "I am in love with her. I will do whatever it takes to bring her back. I won't…" His knuckles turn white under the strain of his grip and he takes another breath before finishing. "I will not let her run away from me." _Not until I tell her… She has to know everything. _

Fuwa-san sighs at the complexity of the situation. "I cannot help you. Kyoko-chan is like a daughter to me. I will support whatever decision she has made. However…" She steps up to Ren so that he can see the depth of her words in her eyes. "If you truly love her like you say you do, then promise me you will take whatever pain she has buried deep within her away. She won't tell me what happened, but I can see something burdening her that is more than just a lost job." She looks down, remembering the expressions she has caught Kyoko making when she thought no one was looking. "Her heart has been shattered." She looks back up at Ren. "Fix it."

"Yes." One word was all that was needed to convey to Fuwa-san that Ren was serious.

Just then, the door to the inn opens and a young man in a suit steps in and stiffly bows, followed by an older man also in a suit. "Good afternoon, I am Arata Imai and this is my father. It is a pleasure to meet you." His voice shakes and he looks up to take in the intense atmosphere between Ren and Fuwa-san. "Ah! I'm sorry! I should have looked before talking!"

It takes a beat, but Fuwa-san puts on her best professional smile. "Not at all. It is a pleasure to meet you also. I am the mistress of this ryokan. If you follow me, we can meet with Kyoko-chan now. She is already prepared for you."

"Yes, of course." Arata's father says and he pushes Arata forward as they follow Fuwa-san, who gives Ren a meaningful look before leading them away.

Ren does his best to control his anger._I know this isn't Fuwa-san's fault. Or this… child's. But…_ he is unable to control his instant loathing towards Arata- the man chosen to be Kyoko's partner._No… more than loathing… This is just envy._ In his mind, Kyoko still felt nothing towards Ren. He is just unable to give up without trying anymore. Especially now that he knows she will be forced into marriage with someone she doesn't even know yet.

The girl who left earlier to prepare his room reenters to lead Ren to where he will be staying._Tonight… I'll talk to her tonight._

* * *

Kyoko is standing on the balcony to her room she had been moved to after announcing her acceptance to inherit the inn. It is at a more secluded area so that she can't be disturbed when working. She is grateful, but she could not fight the loneliness that came over her when all she could hear was the hum of cicadas. She was tired after a long day of training and the meeting with her suitor, Arata. While he had a good background, to Kyoko he seemed inadequate.

She sighs. "Get it together!" She slaps both of her cheeks in an attempt to do just that. It'll be okay. It will get better. She looks up at the full moon that is illuminating the small grassy area that lies just before the trees beyond her balcony. Her thoughts wander to Ren. In no way could Arata even measure up to Ren in her heart._But I have to try… I'm sorry I'm such a failure, Tsuruga-san._ She looks down and out at the trees. She notices someone walking alone, so she squints her eyes to try to see better and his hair gets lit up by the moonlight. _Corn…?_ She rubs her eyes, not believing it. When she opens them and tries to see again, but he is gone._ Once again she sighs. __I'm an idiot…_

Ren sighs in frustration. He was informed that Kyoko went to bed and wasn't informed that he is there, so he took a walk around the ryokan in hopes of spotting her through one of the room's windows. Unfortunately for him, he had already passed Kyoko's balcony once and didn't see her. So when he passed by again, he didn't bother to look. He returns to his room and decides to try again tomorrow.

* * *

"What!?" Sho shouts into his cell phone. "Mom, what are you talking about? Arranged marriage!?" Sho has not accepted any calls from his mom in all the time he has been in Tokyo, but he knew Saena would be trying to get Kyoko to go back to Kyoto so he thought she might have been calling about her. _This is not what we planned!_

_"So you don't know anything either… Kyoko-chan hasn't been her usual cheerful self, so I thought something was wrong. But she won't tell me and you don't know…"_

Sho grips his phone. "No. I don't know anything at all," he lies. He hangs up on her and quickly calls Saena.

She answers after a few rings. _"So I see you've probably heard by now."_

"You bi*ch! We agreed on her moving back to Kyoto, but I didn't say anything about an arranged marriage!"

Saena laughs. _"Did you really think I would risk her moving back here? I needed something to tie her down over there."_

"You said you would plant in my mom's ear that she would inherit the inn. Nothing else."

"_Well then you really are the idiot I thought you were. If she's to run a ryokan then she needs someone by her side to do it. You should know that better than anyone,"_ she says as a last jab before hanging up.

It stings him quite a bit. The one who was meant to be the one by her side to run it was supposed to be him. But he gave it up to come to Tokyo and then he threw her away too. He clenches his fists. _We'll see about that…_

* * *

Kyoko is taking a break from training to take a walk to her favorite place on earth- where she met Corn. She steps through the tree line and into the bright sunlight that temporarily blinds her. While her eyes adjust, she sees a man standing before her with hair shining in the sun. Without hesitating she yells "Corn!"

The man abruptly turns around. "Kyoko…" He is shocked to see her there.

Finally Kyoko can see right and sees that his hair isn't blonde, but dark brown. And it isn't Corn, but Ren.

Kyoko inadvertently takes a step back. "What…?" _Why is he here!?_

In response to her stepping back, Ren takes a step towards her, raising one hand. "Wait…"

Kyoko shakes her head. "No…" She takes another step back. "No!" Turning and running, Kyoko shakes with a mixture of emotions from seeing Ren again. She had not planned on meeting him again. She knows that if she stays then her emotions will overtake her- something she could never let happen. Especially now with her fiancé and all of the promises she has made to Fuwa-san. So she runs with all of her might, but her legs can only carry her so fast. Ren's long legs on the other hand let him quickly catch up.

Ren grabs Kyoko's arm and pulls her to a stop so abruptly that she stumbles backwards- right into his chest. Before she can react, Ren puts both of his arms around her waist and holds her to him. Both of them are breathless and all Ren can say is "I said to wait…"

Kyoko sucks in a deep breath and struggles against his grasp. "L-let me go!"

Ren looks down at the girl in his arms. _Holding her feels… right. _He tightens his grip and it stuns Kyoko. Again she repeats her plea to no avail. He closes his eyes and they both stand there, back to front, in silence. Kyoko is trembling, overwhelmed. What she doesn't know is that Ren is also overwhelmed with feelings.

"Please… Tsuruga-san…"

Hearing his name brings him out of his thoughts. "No."

"Eh…?" _Please just let me go… I can't do this. _

"I said no. I won't let you go." _Ever again._

"B-but… Please!"

"No, Kyoko."

Once again she is stunned. She has heard him say her name a few times, but she couldn't get used to it. _Why say it now? Don't do this now!_

Ren balls up his fists, preparing himself. It has been so long since he discovered his feelings for Kyoko and it seems like he's held them in for an eternity. He knows she has given up on love and will reject him. He knows she could never feel something like love for him, someone she regards as just a senior at LME. Sho told him that night in the parking garage that Kyoko herself said she isn't in love with him. _But still… That doesn't change how _I _feel. _He takes a deep breath, looks towards the heavens for a sign of hope but continues even though he doesn't find any. "Kyoko, I am in love with you."

Kyoko's world stops spinning. "What…?" she whispers, not believing what she thought she heard. Ren releases her and she turns to peak at him. She lightly jumps when she finds him looking intently at her.

"I said… I am in love with you…" His jaw clenches. He has never been as nervous as he is now.

Kyoko takes his expression in. _He's serious…_ She shakes her head in horror. "No… No you can't be…" _I have been too damaged. No! He can't! Not for me…_

This was not the response Ren was expecting, but he'd take it over any of his imagined reactions from her.

"I… You…!" She is unable to form coherent thoughts. Ren places both hands on her cheeks and leans down until he is on eye level, forcing her to look right at him.

"Kyoko, breathe. Just talk to me. It's okay… No matter what your response is. My feelings can't be swayed" Some of his seriousness melts away and he smiles at her, meaning every word. Even if she rejects him, he is glad he told her. He has never been happier than he is now, looking into the eyes of the girl he loves. What Kyoko sees in his expression right then breaks her: his sweet expression, the seriousness in his words, and his love for her that is suddenly overflowing. Tears stream down her face and onto his hands.

"But… But you're you!" Kyoko blurts out between sobs.

Again, Ren is startled. "I'm me? What do you mean?" He searches her amber eyes for meaning.

"I am no one… You are my respected senior… You've always helped me so much…!" Again she is forced to speak as her tears pour down to his hands that are still on her. He uses his thumbs to wipe them away, tenderly caressing her. Kyoko fights the shiver that runs up her spine. "To… to have… feelings for you is inexcusable…!"

This time Ren's world stops. Both of them stand there, Kyoko crying and Ren stunned, in a world of their own where time has seemingly stopped. His thumbs pause their strokes and his heart stops beating. "What…?" He repeats her words in his head. _"To… to have… feelings for you is inexcusable…!" Feelings…? For… me? I must have heard wrong._

Kyoko mistakes his stunned silence for anger. _No! I said it! He knows! And now he'll hate me… _"I'm sorry Tsuruga-san! I know I should be ashamed for feeling this way for you…!"

_She does… _Ren releases her, places his face in his hand and let's go. He laughs. _All this time of hiding how I feel because I was scared she's hate me… And _she_ actually has feelings for _me_. _He was ecstatic.

"Uh… Tsuruga-san? You're not… angry?"

He looks at her and tries to contain his laughter. _Now_ he had never been happier. "You idiot."

"Eh!?"

He crosses his arms and fights to control his glee filled laughter that was now just a chuckle. "I just confessed to you and you think I would be upset that you have feelings for me? Idiot…" Kyoko just stands there, not sure what to say after he so blatantly talks about her exposed feelings. Ren steps up to her until he was a breath's length away. All laughter gone, he stares intently down at her. "Say it."

"Say… What…?" Kyoko timidly asks, not sure of what he means.

"Tell me how you feel…" _I'll second guess myself later if I don't hear it directly._

Kyoko's eyes widen with comprehension and a blush creeps up her neck, causing Ren to smile. _Tell him… the truth!? Like this? Now? _Her head is spinning and Ren relents, unable to cause the love of his life discomfort.

_Love of my life, huh…_ He pulls her into an embrace, sealing the distance between them. _Yeah… It has a nice ring to it._

If possible, Kyoko's face grows hotter and she is pressed it into Ren's chest. She knows she has so many other things to worry about, but all she can think and feel is Ren. She grabs fistfuls of his shirt and murmurs into it so he can just barely hear. "I love you, Ren."

He squeezes her tighter at her words, his heart swelling. _There's only one problem…_ he thinks to himself. _That's not my name…_ "Kyoko… There's something you need to know."


End file.
